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Two days have passed since they arrived back at base in Kamakura. Shortly after their arrival, Renji discovers that he is not the only one who has gotten the offer to train with General Kuchiki in Okinawa.Bazz-B, Mila Rose, and Muguruma have also received the same offer for training, and all three of them have eagerly taken him up on it. Even more, Zaraki was more than glad to let them go for training, since it is a great opportunity for them to develop and improve upon their skills.Dr. Unohana is also going to be accompanying them to Okinawa, just in case Renji’s PTSD strikes again. Not that Renji minds; he knows that he’ll need her if that’s the case.In the two days since their arrival in Kamakura, Renji, Bazz-B, Mila Rose, and Muguruma have been packing enough clothes to last them three weeks. There should be a laundry facility at the base there, but it never hurts to play it on the safe side.In terms of weapons, they'll be bringing their own armour and gear for use. However, Renji also buys himself a brand new combat knife shortly after their return to Kamakura, and while he has yet to replace his old shotgun, Renji has been dropping a few hints to Rukia that he wants a new shotgun just like his old one for his birthday.“Can’t believe the General himself invited you guys to train with him,” Hisagi says at dinner.Renji smiles. “Yeah. I couldn’t pass up on that offer,” he says.“I don’t really know why he asked me to come along for training, but I couldn’t pass up on it either,” Muguruma adds. “Besides, I ain’t complainin’.”“Can't wait to test out my new smartgun, too,” Mila Rose says with a grin.A short while after they landed back on Earth, Mila Rose had gotten her smartgun and harness replaced. She even painted the same words of ‘ADIOS’ on her new smartgun and ‘El riesgo siempre vive’ on the front of her new harness, as well as adding a lioness on the back.“I wonder what the General’s got planned for you guys,” Soifon says after a mouthful of food.“Well, whatever it is, he’s definitely not gonna go easy on you,” Madarame says. “I mean, he looks pretty, but he ain’t a General for nothin’, ya know.”Zaraki grins. “You’re right about that,” he says. “I’ve heard the stories about General Kuchiki and I can guarantee that he lives up to them. He may be a rich pretty boy, but he didn’t get all those medals and ribbons for nothin’. He’s a fuckin’ badass, lemme tell you that.”“Oh? You’ve seen him in action, Sarge?” Iba asks him.“Damn straight,” Zaraki says.Hearing Zaraki telling everyone about how badass General Kuchiki is makes Renji remember the conversation he had with him back at the banquet, about how even he had experienced trauma and loss several years ago. And for a brief moment, Renji wonders if he’s going to see another side to General Kuchiki while they’re in Okinawa.“So, what time do you guys head out?” Kira asks them.“We’re leaving at around fourteen-hundred in the afternoon tomorrow,” Renji says. “We’ll have to fly out from the Kamakura Air Base to the Naha Airfield. The training facility isn't too far from Naha, so if we want, we can go and check out the city on our free time.”“Can we check out the beach?” Bazz-B asks him.“If you want to, I guess. But make sure you’ve packed up everything before lights-out, got it?”“Sure thing,” Mila Rose says. “Looks like it’s early to bed tonight, then.”“Indeed it is,” Renji responds.Instead of daily training, Renji is busy with some last minute preparations for the trip to Okinawa. He also remembers to take his sketchbook and pencils with him, just so he can have something to do in his free time. He also foregoes the coat on his service uniform and opts to wear the short-sleeved button up shirt, since Okinawa is going to be very hot.After getting his duffel bag, Renji meets up with Muguruma, Mila Rose, Bazz-B, and Unohana, and the five of them leave the base and head to the jeep that’s waiting outside to take them to the Kamakura Air Base.“I hope the base in Okinawa’s as nice as this one,” Bazz-B says as they climb inside.“Don’t count on it, Bazz,” Muguruma tells him, rolling his eyes slightly. “We’re there to train, not for vacation.”“Fuck you,” Bazz-B responds. Seriously, Bazz? How old are you, thirteen? Renji thinks to himself, rubbing his temples. “Cállate, will you?” Mila Rose says sternly as she glances at them. “I’m not gonna sit for three hours on the plane listening to you two act like five-year-olds, and I sure as hell am not gonna sit in this car for the exact same thing, alright?”“Thank you, Mila Rose,” Renji says. “And yeah, don’t pull that shit in front of the General, okay? You can joke around a little, but we still want to give a good impression.”“We know, we know,” Bazz-B replies, rolling his eyes slightly.The drive to the Kamakura Air Base goes by quicker than expected, and they waste no time in getting on the plane. It’s a bit smaller than the regular transport aircraft that’s used to airlift troops and weapons around the globe, but for a flight that’s a little over three hours, it works just fine.After stowing his bags in the holders above the seats, Renji takes his seat and puts on his seatbelt as Bazz-B takes his seat next to him. Mila Rose and Muguruma stow their bags and take their seats towards the back, and Unohana takes her seat just ahead of them.Everyone is silent as the plane takes off and starts its path to Okinawa. But about fifteen minutes after take-off, Bazz-B starts talking to Renji.“You know, I saw you talking to the General at the banquet,” Bazz-B says, getting Renji’s attention.Renji looks up from his data pad and looks at Bazz-B. “Yeah, I did. Why?”“Just wondering, what was he like at the banquet?” Bazz-B asks.“Well…” Renji thinks for a moment as he shuts off his data pad. “He has a very commanding presence, but that night, he was pretty gentle as well. People respect him for a good reason, and it’s definitely not just because he’s a ‘fuckin’ badass’. He cares about the Marines, regardless of who they are, and he’s also a lifer like me. I remember having a brief encounter with him back when he was still a Major, but I didn’t really interact with him until four years ago, when I was still in recovery from… you know.”Bazz-B nods. “What was he like back then?”“I remember him looking shocked when he saw me. I was also pretty embarrassed that he had to see me like that, all haggard and depressed with bloodshot eyes and all that,” Renji continues. “He’s the one who sent me to Dr. Unohana, and it really helped me. After that, I haven’t interacted with him much until when he came to base, and during the banquet. He… He told me that he saw himself back when he saw me that time. And it made me realize that he’s as human as you and I. He may be the General, but he’s gone through his own share of pain and trauma.”“Why do you think he decided to bring us to Okinawa for training?” Bazz-B wonders. “I mean, I didn’t really think I impressed the General that much.”“But he said that you have potential, right?” Renji points out.“Yeah, but-”“Then he was definitely impressed with you,” Renji says. “Think of it this way, Bazz. If a high-ranking officer like General Kuchiki sees potential in you, then it means you got potential. And he’s definitely going to want to see you achieve it. Trust me, it makes you feel a little good, doesn’t it?”Bazz-B nods. “I… I guess it does,” he says.“He must’ve read the reports about you and Mila Rose on LV-352. If it’s not that, then it’s probably your actions from that time when we were dealing with pirates on Luna,” Renji suggests. “As for Muguruma, he probably read the report about his bravery in Hungary.”“And Mila Rose?”“Either LV-352, or Hungary. Those are my best bets.”Three hours pass by much quicker than expected, and before they realize, they’re beginning to approach the Naha Airfield. It doesn’t take too long for the plane to land, and Renji is jolted awake by the plane landing on the tarmac. Slowly sitting up, Renji looks out the window and sees the sky of Naha that’s slowly shifting into evening. I managed to sleep for a good three hours… Renji thinks to himself, rubbing his eyes.“I dunno how you can fall asleep like that, even during turbulence,” Bazz-B tells him.Renji chuckles slightly. “I can sleep on a dropship too, remember?” He gets up from his seat after Bazz-B stands up and grabs his duffel bag.The doors of the plane open up, and Renji is almost immediately hit with a blast of humidity as he steps outside.“Whoa, it’s hot out here!” Bazz-B announces.“No shit,” Mila Rose says, rolling her eyes as she and Muguruma follow Renji and Bazz-B down the steps, their bags in hand.Renji is about to start walking when they see a familiar figure approaching them. To his surprise, it’s General Kuchiki.“Good evening, General!” Renji says, dropping his bag and holding a salute, prompting the others to do the same.General Kuchiki returns the salute, allowing them to relax. “Good evening,” he greets. He then notices Unohana. “Good evening, Dr. Unohana.”Unohana smiles at him. “Good evening, General,” she greets. “It’s a surprise to see you here.”“I decided to come here and bring you to the training facility myself. Transportation is waiting for you right now, so let’s get going.”“Yes, sir,” Renji and the others say at the same time as they pick up their bags.As they head to the truck waiting for them outside the Air Base, General Kuchiki continues speaking. “I should have you know that there are a few other officers here who are also doing some training,” he tells them. “Colonel Kyoraku, Colonel Ukitake, Captain Shihouin, and Major Tousen are among them. So don’t get too intimidated, but also make sure you show them the proper respect they deserve.”“Yes, sir.”When they reach the truck, they all pile their bags in the trunk before climbing inside. General Kuchiki takes the front seat, Renji, Unohana, and Bazz-B sit in the middle, while Mila Rose and Muguruma take the back. As soon as everyone is seated, the driver starts the engine and they’re driving away from the airfield to the training facility.Renji uses the opportunity to look outside the window at the Naha scenery as they drive. The sun is slowly beginning to set now, the sky turning from pale pink to fiery orange and yellow. And gradually, the landscape changes from greenery and traditional Okinawan architecture to the more contemporary landscape dominated by modern buildings, hotel resorts, and beaches. All the while, there’s a lovely view of the ocean glistening in the evening sun.“Man, I haven’t been here for a while now,” Bazz-B says. “I’d love to stay in one of those fancy hotels again.”Renji nods absentmindedly.Gradually, that scenery changes too, and they go away from the bustling, touristy, vibrant nightlife of Naha, and towards the more industrial, military facilities on the outskirts of the city. They pass by a couple of factories, one of them an active WeYu factory, the other one a clearly shut-down building with a fading orange logo on the outside. Renji looks curiously at the shut-down factory.“‘Seegson’...” Renji mumbles, managing to make out what the faded word says.“You say something?” Muguruma asks.“Just reading the sign on the rundown factory over there.”Unohana glances at the rundown factory to see what Renji is talking about. “That factory was once owned by the now-defunct Seegson corporation. Have any of you heard of them?”Renji shakes his head. “Not really, actually.”“Never heard their name before,” Bazz-B adds.“Doesn’t ring a bell,” Mila Rose says.“Nope,” Muguruma chimes in.Unohana doesn’t seem too displeased at this. “That’s understandable, you’re too young to have known about this,” she says. “Seegson was a rival company to Weyland-Yutani and a prominent synthetic manufacturer back in the 2130s, but they didn’t last very long. They tried to imitate Weyland-Yutani’s success, but most of their technology was very crude. Their synthetics were nothing like the ones that Weyland-Yutani manufacture.”Renji raises an eyebrow. A lot of synthetics are manufactured to look completely humanlike, even having human-like interior systems, and they’re stronger and faster than the average human.“What did those androids look like?” Muguruma asks.This time, it’s General Kuchiki who answers. “They designed their androids, called Working Joes, to be completely distinguishable from humans and connected to a single core computer. But they were simply too uncanny to be considered a good alternative to Weyland-Yutani synthetics, so they failed,” he says. “Now that Seegson has shut down, though, the facility here has taken a few Working Joes to handle some basic day-to-day tasks. Their central core no longer exists now, and they’re obedient to the staff of the facility.”There’s a brief silence after General Kuchiki finishes speaking as everyone takes in this new information.By the time they arrive at the training facility, the sun is well below the horizon, and the night sky is slowly starting to show. Stars are showing up in the inky-blue sky above the orange, and it’s a very beautiful sight to see.After Renji climbs out of the car and takes his duffel bag, he pauses for a moment to take a look at the scenery.Whoever built this training facility has definitely chosen a good location. There’s a gorgeous view of the beach and the ocean near the barracks, and it’s also spacious enough to offer plenty of different exercises for training. A gentle evening breeze blows through Renji’s hair and he allows himself to enjoy the feeling as he follows General Kuchiki to the entrance of the facility.When they enter the building, they are greeted by a tall, somewhat lean man with light skin and gray eyes. With messy, pale-blond hair, green coveralls with the WeYu patch on his right sleeve and the Gotei patch on his left sleeve, the man seems friendly and approachable, but there’s also something mildly… off about him.The man smiles and bows at them. “Welcome to the Gotei Naha Training Facility,” he greets. “My name is Urahara, and it’s a pleasure to meet you all. Please, allow me to show you around.”Without further ado, Renji and the others follow Urahara as he shows them around the facility. He gives them a brief history about the installation and an overview of the services offered. Renji, however, is only half-paying attention to Urahara’s speech. Rather, he’s more focused on the way Urahara is acting now.He’s demure, polite, and almost deferential. He also sounds nonchalant, yet it’s self-conscious at the same time. Even more, his casual movements, like a shrug, seem very… deliberate.It doesn’t take much for Renji to put two and two together. And even Unohana, Bazz-B, Mila Rose, and Muguruma have figured it out as well.Soon, before he realizes, the tour is over, and they are being shown to their barracks.“Dinner will be in about an hour, so once you’ve settled down and freshened up, come to the mess hall,” General Kuchiki says. “Abarai, Black, Muguruma, you will be bunking together. Mila Rose, you will be sharing a room with Captain Shihouin and Dr. Unohana. Bathrooms are communal here, so I do hope you all know how to behave when it comes to the showers. I shouldn’t have to remind you of basic rules. Again, make sure you come to the mess hall at eighteen-hundred. Now go get settled.”When Renji enters his designated bedroom, he’s surprised to see that there are two bunks per room. He raises an eyebrow slightly.“It’s like boot camp all over again,” Muguruma says. “Hopefully the mattresses aren’t as shitty.”Bazz-B tosses his duffel bag on the top bunk. “Here, Muguruma, you have the bottom rack,” he says.Renji sits on the bottom rack of the other bunk bed and sets his duffel bag down. After emptying both his duffel bag and backpack, Renji grabs a fresh pair of clothes before heading to the door to go for a shower.“Goin’ for a shower already?” Bazz asks.“Of course,” Renji says. “How are the mattresses?”“Not bad, actually,” Muguruma says. “Maybe I won’t need a chiropractor after all.”Renji snorts. “Oh, come on. You’re not that old,” he chides him lightly. “Anyways, I’ll see you at dinner.”With that, he heads to the men’s bathroom for a warm shower.
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By the time he’s finished with his shower and dinner rolls around, Renji feels a little bit fresher. Fortunately, the showers are divided into cubicles, which does help give a sense of privacy, and Renji can only be glad the bathroom is not like the one in boot camp.Having changed into his set of fresh fatigues, Renji heads down to the mess hall, and he’s joined by Bazz-B, Mila Rose, Muguruma, and Unohana. Briefly, he wonders just what it’s going to be like to have dinner with these high-ranking officers while he and his squadmates are simply grunts.“How are your bunks?” Renji asks Mila Rose and Unohana.Mila Rose shrugs. “Not bad,” she says. “Besides, it’s a lot better than boot camp.”“Anything’s better than boot camp, man,” Bazz-B tells her.The mess hall is pretty decent, much like the one on Kamakura. It’s well-lit, there are some wide windows that show some impressive views of the Okinawa coast, and the setting sun casts an orange glow into the mess hall. One of the windows is open and Renji can hear the sound of waves washing against the shore. It’s very peaceful, and Renji feels rather relaxed in this moment.No wonder so many Marines like being stationed in coastal cities, especially in Okinawa and Hawaii. Then again, hotter cities can become unbearable during the summer, just like that time when Renji and his unit had been doing joint training with the Indian Military in a small town not too far from the capital of Rajasthan. That had been a real dry heat.Renji gets himself a tray of food and makes a beeline for the table closest to the windows just so he can look outside. And to his pleasant surprise, the other officers are seated at the table as well, dressed in their fatigues and having dinner while casually conversing with each other. For a moment, Renji hesitates to sit down, but he quickly takes a seat not too far from them.“Man, I… I feel kinda awkward, huh?” Mila Rose says as she sits down.“Yeah, we’re just grunts, and here we are,” Muguruma agrees.As Renji starts eating his dinner, he suddenly sees someone setting down some glasses from behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he’s mildly surprised to see Urahara with a water jug in hand.Urahara offers them a pleasant smile.“Water?” he asks.“Um, sure,” Renji says. “Thanks.”Once Urahara pours everyone a glass of water and moves away, Renji hears Bazz-B speak to him.“Is he…?”“Definitely,” Renji says quietly. “I don’t think I’ve seen his model before, though. Probably an older one.”“Yes, the Urahara model is an older synthetic from Weyland-Yutani,” Unohana tells them.“So… is this place like a refuge for older synthetics?” Mila Rose asks, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, we got Urahara here, and two Working Joes from that Seegson company. Do the Gotei and WeYu send all the older models here?”Muguruma shrugs. “Who knows?”Right then, Captain Shihouin glances over at them, and a smile crosses her face. “So, you must be Corporal Abarai Renji,” she says, getting his attention.Renji nods. “Yes, Captain,” he says, his voice becoming professional. “And this is Private First Classes Black, Mila Rose, and Muguruma. Also with us is Dr. Unohana Retsu. It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”Bazz-B, Mila Rose, and Muguruma also nod in greeting at them, looking a little bit hesitant. Renji can’t blame them, honestly.Colonel Kyoraku smiles at them. “Come, there’s no need to be so shy,” he reassures them. “We won’t bite.”“I think they’re just a little bit overwhelmed, that’s all. I mean, they’re much younger. And besides, we’re high-ranking officers,” Colonel Ukitake says lightly. “It’s just like how we used to be when we were training under Marshal General Yamamoto himself, remember?”“Ah, to be young again…” Colonel Kyoraku says with a smile.“Whoa. You trained under the Marshal General himself?” Muguruma is surprised.Even Renji is pleasantly surprised. “I didn’t know that,” he says.Marshal General Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni is the highest-ranking officer in the Gotei, the leader of the Corps itself. He’s also the founder of the Marine Corps Academy, a prestigious military school that is basically bootcamp for people who are training to immediately become commissioned officers in the Marines. However, that school is also very expensive, so a lot of rich kids tend to be trained there. And Renji has heard that it’s supposed to be as tough, if not moreso, than bootcamp.Among the rich families who have trained there are the Kuchiki family and the Shihouin family. However, General Kuchiki was in a very advanced program because of his prodigy, which is how he ended up becoming the youngest general in the Corps.“Indeed, we did,” Colonel Ukitake says. “Genryusai-dono is like a father to us. He taught Shunsui and I everything we know right from our days in the Academy.”This breaks the ice, and it becomes a little bit easier to talk to these high-ranking officers. And while Renji is surprised for a moment, he feels relieved at how these officers really aren’t too different from him and his squadmates, especially when they’re not in their dress uniforms.“So, about Urahara…” Mila Rose begins.Major Tousen glances at her. “You’re quite perceptive,” he tells her. “Yes, indeed. Urahara Kisuke is a synthetic; an older model, to be more specific. However, he serves this training facility by working in the medbay with Private First Class Hinamori Momo, the resident hospital corpsman. I believe Dr. Unohana has already met her.”“I have, indeed,” Unohana confirms. “I do look forward to working with her and Urahara. I’ve worked with a variety of synthetics in the past, actually.”“Actually… I prefer the term ‘artificial person’ myself,” Urahara says, having apparently materialized out of nowhere and making Renji startle slightly.“Of course,” Unohana says with a soft smile.“Are you okay, Corporal?” Urahara asks, looking a little confused at Renji.Renji nods. “I’m fine, don’t worry. Just… don’t sneak up on me like that,” he sighs.“Of course, I apologize. That really wasn’t my intention at all.”Urahara is very different from Akon, Renji notices. For one, Akon is a bit more snarky and willing to engage in casual banter, even though he has the typical synthetic deference. But Urahara… while he’s incredibly polite and dutiful, as per Weyland-Yutani standards to keep humans at ease, but there is something almost genuine about it. A synthetic’s personality is artificial, often compliant with the Three Laws, yet Renji can’t help but wonder if it’s possible for them to develop their own personality to an extent.Then again, just because Urahara looks friendly doesn’t mean he’s weak. Renji has been trained to fight against combat androids (and by god, he never wants to deal with those creepy-looking bastards ever again) as part of an advanced training program, and he’s also dealt with hostile security drones before. He’s all too aware of how strong synthetics are. Hell, one just has to take a look at Akon to know that synthetics aren’t to be trifled with.That’s the only thing he’ll credit Weyland-Yutani with: they sure know how to make some strong androids.“Oi, Abarai.” Muguruma’s voice snaps Renji from his thoughts, and he glances at him. At this point, they’re almost finished with their dinner.“Yeah?”“You think Urahara is as fast as Akon?”Muguruma has a smirk on his face, and Renji almost knows where this is heading…“Whatever it is you’re planning, it better not be-” Renji starts, but is interrupted when Muguruma calls for Urahara.“Hey, Urahara!” Muguruma calls, getting Urahara’s attention.Urahara comes up to stand behind him and Bazz-B. “Can I help you, Private?” he asks.Then, Muguruma grins as he pulls out his combat knife. “Ever played the knife game before?” he asks, unsheathing his blade and handing it to the surprised synthetic.“Oh my God…” Renji mutters, shaking his head in disbelief.“You fuckin’ kidding me, man?! This again?!” Bazz-B demands when Muguruma gets up from his seat to restrain him in place. “Why you gotta use me, man?! What the fuck is your problem?!”“Aw, hell yeah! Let’s see how fast you are, Urahara!” Mila Rose clamours with a grin.“Hey, quit messin’ around! Come on, man!” Bazz-B protests when his hand is covered by Urahara’s, their fingers splayed.By now, the other officers have taken notice of the noise.“What’s going on?” Captain Shihouin asks, looking interested.“Something that happens on base every other day…” Renji sighs.“Just trust me,” Urahara says, his voice firm but reassuring.And then, Urahara is stabbing the knife into every space between Bazz-B’s fingers, his hand quickly becoming a blur as Bazz-B slowly screams in panic. Mila Rose is laughing, Muguruma is grinning, and even Renji can’t really hide his chuckle, half-exasperated and half-amused.When Urahara finishes, Bazz-B looks very shaken as Muguruma releases him.“Yeah, that’s enough, you guys,” Renji says, trying to stifle his chuckles.Muguruma claps Bazz-B’s shoulder again before sitting back down. “There you go.”Bazz-B retorts with a middle finger. “Fuck you,” he snaps.“Alright, do I have to start treating you like five-year-olds?!” Renji demands. “Geez…”When he glances back at the officers, he notices that instead of put-off or annoyed, they’re all fairly amused by what they’ve just seen. Captain Shihouin looks almost delighted, Colonel Kyoraku is chuckling, Colonel Ukitake is just smiling mirthfully, Major Tousen seems to be smirking, and while General Kuchiki’s face is impassive, Renji can see the corners of his lips twitching slightly, as if he’s trying to fight a smile.Captain Shihouin speaks first. “Is it always like this on base?” she asks in amusement.“Pretty much,” Renji says.“Remember when you were that young?” Colonel Ukitake asks Kyoraku, smiling fondly. “You used to do pranks like that before.”“That I did!” Colonel Kyoraku laughs heartily. “Doesn’t it bring back some memories for you too, Byakuya-kun?”Renji can’t help but be a bit surprised at Colonel Kyoraku addressing the General so informally. Sure, General Kuchiki is younger than the other officers, but he’s still the General, so shouldn’t he be more formal with him?However, General Kuchiki just raises an eyebrow, his eyes glinting slightly. “In a way, I suppose,” he says nonchalantly before glancing at Urahara. “Oh? I thought you never missed.”Renji looks at Urahara and notices him looking at a small cut on his finger. A trickle of white synthetic fluid is leaking from it, but it’s nothing major.Urahara shrugs. “I’ll just fix myself up,” he says.Yet again, so casual and harmless, Renji thinks as he gets up from the table to put his tray away at the counter.“How can I help you today, Corporal?” A distinctly robotic voice suddenly asks behind him, making him jump and tense up.Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Renji slowly turns around to meet what is perhaps the creepiest android he’s ever seen.It is bluish-white, but instead of human-like skin, its skin is made of hairless rubber. Its eyes almost resemble those white Christmas lights that are everywhere in the winter, and it is wearing a simple brown and orange industrial overalls.Even worse, the android is just… staring at him. It’s so fucking creepy and uncanny that Renji feels some sort of primal fear within him, something that tells him not to trust this android.He stares back in both shock and mild revulsion, and it doesn’t even occur to him to use his brain-to-mouth filter. “What the fuck is that?” he asks, getting everyone’s attention.Bazz-B, Mila Rose, and Muguruma look just as repulsed as Renji, while Unohana just smiles slightly, though even she looks mildly disturbed.“That is one of the two Working Joe androids here,” Urahara says, smiling apologetically. “Formerly owned by Seegson, it’s now the property of the Gotei, and it permanently works here in this facility, along with another one.”Renji blinks for a moment, and then sighs. Glancing back at the Working Joe, he says, “I don’t need help right now.”“Very well,” the Working Joe says with no facial movement whatsoever as it walks away.Renji just shudders as he watches it walk down the mess hall. And he thought the combat androids are the creepiest things he’s ever seen.“No wonder Seegson went out of business,” he mutters as he puts his tray away for wash.“Actually, those androids were designed to look that way,” Unohana says as she also disposes of her tray.Renji looks at her incredulously. “Seriously?”“Yes. They were designed to be distinct from humans so they cannot be mistaken as such, as opposed to Weyland-Yutani synthetics,” Unohana says. “But they’re nowhere near as strong as the WeYu models, of course. The Working Joes can be mildly unsettling, but I can assure you that these ones are safe. They belong to the Gotei now.”“Um… safe?”“Apparently, the Working Joes malfunctioned on the failed Seegson station Sevastopol,” Unohana says. “They malfunctioned and began attacking people during the station’s decommission.”Mila Rose sighs. “Well, ain’t that lovely,” she says, looking unsettled.“However, these Working Joes are hooked up to the core of this facility,” Urahara tells them. “Now, they’re completely obedient to us, so they won’t attack you.”Renji wants to be reassured. But somehow, those words don’t reassure him at all.It’s not just the aliens and Facehuggers that show up in Renji’s dreams tonight. The Working Joes, combat androids, and security drones he’s fought in the past also show up, mingled in with memories of Inuzuri and bootcamp.His dreams are so surreal and bizarre that when he finally wakes up, his heart feels like it’s going to burst free from his chest as he looks around, hearing his squadmates sleeping soundly. Rubbing his face, Renji glances at the clock and notices that it’s already four in the morning, so he just climbs out of bed, puts on his PT shorts, and heads to the bathroom to get ready for the day.Once he’s finished brushing his teeth, Renji is just brushing his hair as he thinks about the dreams from last night.To think that there was once a time when Renji hadn’t been afflicted with nightmares or bizarre dreams of this caliber nearly every night… it feels almost like a lifetime ago. What I wouldn’t give for just one night of dreamless sleep… Renji thinks as he ties his hair into a high ponytail. But he knows it’s too much to ask for.He heads to the lounge just to go outside onto the veranda and look at the view when he notices that the lights in the lounge are already on, and he can hear the sound of the ocean and sea breeze coming from outside.Curiously, Renji approaches the entrance to the lounge and that’s when he sees that the doors to the veranda are open. And standing outside is none other than General Kuchiki.
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The General looks almost like a completely different person out of uniform. Dressed in only a white tanktop and black sleeping pants, and with his long hair free from its usual ponytail, General Kuchiki looks a lot gentler right now. But at the same time, he still has that air of dignified grace all around him.Renji tries to be quiet as he enters the lounge, but General Kuchiki hears him anyways. “Is that you, Abarai?” he asks.“Yes, sir,” Renji says, approaching the entrance to the veranda. “How did you know?”“I just do. And besides, unless your other squadmates are sleepwalkers, I highly doubt anyone else would be up right now,” General Kuchiki says, glancing at Renji over his shoulder. “What are you doing awake at this hour?”“Just some… weird dreams,” Renji admits, walking out onto the veranda. “What about you, sir?”“The same as you.”Renji stands next to the General, glancing at him for a moment before looking back out at the horizon. Dawn is nearing, and the sky is slowly growing lighter. A soft orange glow is slowly rising from the horizon, and the sky is a beautiful mix of lilac and a pinkish-orange colour. The waves gently wash against the shore, and it’s so peaceful and tranquil right now.Looks like there’s some benefit to waking up this early, Renji thinks to himself. But even then, Renji just wants one, at least one, dreamless sleep.“What were you dreaming about?” General Kuchiki asks, his voice piercing through Renji’s thoughts.“Me?” Renji glances back at him. “Well… it was a lotta things, actually. Iwashiro, aliens, but mostly androids; Working Joes, combat androids, security drones, mainly those ones.”“The Working Joes unsettled you that much?”“Yeah, I guess.” Renji smiles weakly. “I can’t even remember the last time I didn’t have nightmares or bizarre dreams. Feels like a lifetime ago.”General Kuchiki nods, his face impassive. But Renji notices that his eyes look somewhat wistful and sad. “I understand,” he says sincerely. “LV-245 was years ago, but I still have nightmares of that time. We’d only gone there to retrieve some hostages, but then this happened. I still remember how all of my men were hunted by some… some kind of predator that was much stronger than I ever expected.”That makes Renji look at him in surprise. “A creature?”“Yes. It hunted us one by one, and it showed no mercy,” General Kuchiki remembers. So, yes. I was just dreaming about it.”He looks down sadly. “And to this day, I still don’t know where the hell it came from, or what it even is. In the end, my only accomplishment on that mission was being alive. And even then, the cost was just way too much.”Renji looks at the General, feeling like he understands him much more than before. Well, he understands him to an extent. At the time of Iwashiro, Renji really didn’t have the best of relationships with Sergeant Amagai or the others in his previous unit. But that doesn’t mean that Renji wasn’t hurt or upset over their deaths.“I know how it feels, sir,” Renji tells him tentatively. “It’s not an easy process, isn’t it? Especially if you’re close with them.”“You’re right,” General Kuchiki agrees. “Those men... they weren't just my team. They were like a family to me.”There’s a moment of silence before General Kuchiki speaks again. “Tell me, Abarai,” he starts. “What made you decide to enlist in the Corps for life?”Renji is a little bit surprised at the question. However, he just stares out at the ocean before answering.“Well… there are a lot of reasons,” Renji admits. “I’m not going to say that my only reason was to protect people, though it is one of them. But I also wanted to go on the adventures I’d dreamed of having as a kid, and see new places. And mainly… I just wanted to get out of Inuzuri.”General Kuchiki glances at him. “Is that so?” he asks. “You know, you’re one of the few people who hasn’t responded with just ‘I wanted to serve the country’ or ‘I wanted to protect people’. I appreciate your honesty.” His voice is genuine as he says that.“Really?”“Yes.” There’s a hint of a smile on General Kuchiki’s face, but it vanishes after that. “You want to know why I enlisted?”Renji nods. “Yes, sir.”“For me, it started out as a family tradition,” the General starts. “My father, grandfather, and those who came before them, they all have been in the Corps since the Academy was founded. So naturally, I enlisted in the Academy to be prepared for an officer’s position. But they all only served for a certain amount of time, mainly because they became commissioned officers very quickly, and then they would retire, get married, and then continue working in the business sector of Weyland-Yutani.”Again, Renji sees a small smile tease the corner of the General’s lips.“However, I broke that tradition,” General Kuchiki says, sounding a little bit proud. “The Corps may have ties with Weyland-Yutani, but I’ll never work directly for them. Not after how abysmally they treated my wife Hisana.” He shakes his head before continuing.“I caused such an outrage in my family, especially among my extended relatives, when I declared that I would be enlisting for life,” General Kuchiki continues. “I’d already caused a scandal when I married Hisana because of her being from Inuzuri, so you can imagine how stunned they were when I told them that I wanted to be a lifer.”“Why would they be mad at you for wanting to be in the Corps, though? Shouldn’t they see it as some kind of honour?”“Well, they don’t see it like that. They believed that I’d turn into an uncouth, hot-tempered, foul-mouthed, violent brute, I suppose. And they were right, in a way. When I was younger, I was fairly hot-tempered and spirited, especially when I was a Major. But LV-245 and Hisana’s death changed me permanently.”It’s a little hard to see this elegant General as foul-mouthed and quick-tempered, but Renji doesn’t question it. He’s also a little curious about General Kuchiki’s grudge with the Company, but he’s not sure if it’s his place to ask.“How did they react after LV-245? Your family?” Renji asks.General Kuchiki’s expression darkens. “They said some very tasteless things about both Hisana and my team,” he recalls. “They were hoping that my men’s deaths would make me want to quit the Corps and ‘listen to their reason’. Even more insulting was when they came with Weyland-Yutani representatives to my base to try and persuade me to quit, saying that they were just worried about me, they only wanted what was best for me…” He shakes his head. “That day, I cut all contact with most of them. The fact that they tried to use a personal tragedy to control me was disgusting, and I refuse to have any part of manipulation like that.”Renji feels disgusted just hearing that. “Well, ain’t that fucked up,” he says, his eyes widening slightly a split-second later. “Er, I mean- well…”A dry chuckle escapes General Kuchiki’s lips. “Don’t worry, Abarai. I’ve heard a lot worse,” he reminds him. “I may be a General, but I’m a Marine at heart, too.”Renji can’t help but chuckle as well. “Wait ‘til you hear Bazz, though,” he says dryly. “His mouth can make even a sailor blush.”“Yes, I heard him during dinner,” General Kuchiki says, raising an eyebrow in amusement.Silence falls over them again. The both of them just look out at the horizon. watching the sky become even lighter than before. Then, General Kuchiki breaks the silence again.“I look forward to starting our training, Abarai,” he tells him sincerely. “Perhaps we should head back inside and get ready for the day, so we can make the most of our training.”“Sounds like a good idea, sir,” Renji agrees.As they head back inside, Byakuya glances over his shoulder at Renji, his eyes glinting slightly. “I do hope you’re ready for today’s training, Abarai. Don’t think that I’ll go easy on either of you.”“I wouldn’t dream of it, sir,” Renji says with a grin.“Good. That’s what I’d like to hear.”After changing into his cargo pants and army-green tank-top and getting ready for the day, Renji has a quick breakfast in the mess hall along with Bazz-B, Mila Rose, and Muguruma. Like him, the three of them are also in their boots and utes, and the same goes for the officers themselves.General Kuchiki has probably already had his breakfast, so that means they have to be quick as well.“I wonder what the General’s got planned for us?” Bazz-B says aloud as he watches Urahara pour some water into a glass for him.“Well, he did tell me to not think that he’ll go easy on us,” Renji points out. “So it’s gonna be some hardcore stuff.”“Wait, when did he tell you this?” Mila Rose asks.“This morning. I woke up really early ‘cause of weird dreams, went to go and clear my head in the lounge, and I found General Kuchiki there. We just talked and he told me not to expect him to go easy on us during training today.”“And he’s right,” Major Tousen says, getting their attention. “General Kuchiki didn’t earn his reputation or his nicknames for nothing.”Muguruma raises an eyebrow. “Nicknames?”Captain Shihouin smirks. “Oh, he’s gotten himself quite a lot,” she says. “‘Blood Samurai’, ‘Senbonzakura’, ‘Ice Prince’, and those are just a few of the well-known nicknames.”For a moment, Renji is mildly surprised at hearing this, but then again, it’s not that surprising. He’s heard the stories of General Kuchiki’s accomplishments and his actions in combat. But for someone like him to have that many nicknames… Renji can’t help but wonder just what else he’s done in combat to have earned that many nicknames.As for Colonels Kyoraku and Ukitake, Captain Shihouin, and Major Tousen, Renji knows about their nicknames too. Colonel Kyoraku is ‘Shadow Demon’, Colonel Ukitake is ‘Warrior Monk’, Captain Shihouin is ‘The Flash Goddess’, and Major Tousen is ‘Blind Warrior’. And they’ve definitely not earned those nicknames for nothing.“Man, General Kuchiki must be a real badass if he’s gotten that many nicknames,” Bazz-B says. “You’re done already, Abarai?”“Yeah,” Renji says, getting up to dispose of his tray. “I’m heading to the training grounds.”Since their training will be taking place outside, Renji heads to the outdoor training field and is immediately hit with a blast of humidity when he steps outside. He’s mentally grateful that he’s wearing his tank-top, but he knows that he’ll be working up a real sweat very quickly, especially when he notices the large tractor tires set up outside.Right then, Renji sees General Kuchiki coming outside, looking very different again. Instead of his service uniform decorated with medals, he’s wearing a gray tank-top, army-green cargo fatigue pants, and black industrial boots. His hair is tied into a ponytail, and that’s also when Renji notices that his arms are toned and muscled quite nicely. There’s still an air of elegance to him, but General Kuchiki looks a lot tougher and hardened right now.“Where’s everyone else?” General Kuchiki asks.“They’re on their way,” Renji tells him.Sure enough, everyone else comes outside a short while later.“Goddamn, it’s hotter than hell out here…” Muguruma mutters.That’s when General Kuchiki speaks, getting everyone’s attention. “Alright, Marines!” he orders, his voice now strict and authoritative. “Today, we’ll be starting off with strength training first. And after lunch, we’ll focus on power exercises.”He then levels his gaze on Renji, Bazz-B, Mila Rose, and Muguruma. “Now, I’m sure you’re no stranger to strength or power training,” he continues. “But this training will be much more vigorous than what you’re used to. If you get injured, then you can go and see Private First Class Hinamori at the medbay. But I do hope you’re all ready for today’s training.”“No need to worry about us, General,” Mila Rose tells him. “Because I only need to know one thing.”“Yes?”Mila Rose grins. “When do we start?” she asks, folding her arms over her chest.General Kuchiki raises an eyebrow before he answers her question. “As a matter of fact, we start right now,” he tells her. “Let’s do some warm-ups! Move it, Marines! Drop down and give me ten!”Almost immediately, Renji gets on all fours in the push-up position onto the grass along with everyone else. Likewise, General Kuchiki also gets on all fours before they all start doing ten push-ups. After that, they do ten squats, and then it’s ten jumping jacks, and they do three reps of each warm-up before it’s time for their strength training.“Alright, now get to a tire! We’re doing four reps of five deadlifts now!” General Kuchiki orders. “Let’s go! We don’t have all day!”Renji is quick to listen to him, and steps into the middle of the tire. As he starts lifting the tire, he notices how it’s heavier than the tire he was lifting back when General Kuchiki was testing him for the medal. It takes a bit of effort, but Renji is able to complete two reps successfully.Mila Rose and Muguruma seem to be having an easier time with deadlifting. Then again, they’re both smartgunners, so their upper-arm strength has been refined and honed in quite well. Sure, the tires are a bit heavier than what they’re used to, but they seem to be managing fine.By the time they move onto the partner tire-push, the sun is bearing down on them. Renji pairs up with Bazz-B, Mila Rose and Muguruma pair up together, Kyoraku and Ukitake also partner up, while Shihouin and Tousen partner up. Then, General Kuchiki gives them the signal to start, and as they do the exercise, he comes up to each pair and joins in on the tire pushing for a brief while.“This is kinda like boot camp, don’t you think?” Bazz-B says as he pushes the tire to Renji.Renji catches the tire, his arms tucked close to his sides as he absorbs the energy with his core and leg muscles. Panting slightly, he nods.“Yeah. Only thing missing…” Renji pushes the tire back to Bazz-B, “... is the drill instructor calling us a piece of shit every other second.” He wipes the sweat off his forehead.“You're right about that.” Bazz-B catches the tire. With a grunt of effort, he pushes it back to Renji. “The drill instructors called me ‘Chickenshit’ in basic.”“They called me ‘Red Monkey’.” Renji catches the tire. “Then again, I don’t think anyone left basic without a nickname attached to them.”Right then, General Kuchiki joins in. “Send the tire to me, Abarai,” he orders.With a nod and a grunt of effort, Renji directs the tire towards the General, and pushes it at him. General Kuchiki catches it with a slight grunt, and then he directs it towards Bazz-B and pushes it to him.After a few more reps of this, General Kuchiki calls for a forty-five second respite.Renji uses the opportunity to not only drink some water, but also pour some all over his face and on the back of his neck to cool off. General Kuchiki also pours some water on the back of his neck, something Renji has never thought he’d see the General do. And then before he realizes, forty-five seconds is over and it’s back to training.By the time strength training is done, the sun is bearing down on everyone and the humidity is almost intolerable. Even more, Renji feels a pull in his right shoulder, particularly in the spot where he’d been shot at in Latvia, and lifting heavy things is now pretty painful in that area.So he heads down to medbay to get his shoulder checked on. Also accompanying him is Ukitake, who had gotten light-headed with a combination of the heat and his illness acting up. The both of them are following the two Working Joes to the medbay, and Renji tries to ignore just how creepy they are as he focuses on Ukitake.“Are you doing okay, Colonel?” Renji asks as they near the medbay.Ukitake smiles at him, despite his flushed face. “I’ll be fine, Abarai,” he reassures him. “But what about you? You’re clearly in a lot of pain.”“It’s nothing, really,” Renji tries to reassure him. “I’ve been through a lot worse.”“Yes, but an injury in your shoulder is no laughing matter,” Ukitake insists.The facility’s medbay is fairly nice. The door slides upwards as they enter, and they are immediately attended to by both Urahara and Private First Class Hinamori Momo, a young woman with short brown hair cut in a bob.Hinamori does a brief check-up on Renji’s shoulder, asking him some questions as well as applying some salve over the gunshot scars in the area. “How did you get these injuries?” she asks.“Insurgents in Latvia,” Renji tells her. “It was a while ago, and I’m lucky my arm didn’t get fucked up from it.”“Well, fortunately, it’s not a life-threatening injury,” Hinamori tells him. “But try and avoid straining it too much for today.”“I’ll do my best.”That’s when Urahara comes up to them. “Corporal, I believe it’s time for your appointment with Dr. Unohana soon,” he says.Renji nods as he gets up. “Yeah. I’m heading down right now.”“So how did your first round of training go?” Unohana asks. “I can imagine that it was pretty hectic, wasn’t it?”“Yeah, it was,” Renji admits. Even now, he’s still feeling rather sore from training. “And it’s so damn hot outside.”Unohana chuckles. “Yes, the humidity can be rather stifling,” she agrees. “But that’s Okinawa for you, I suppose. Now then, what do you think of this place, overall?”Renji shrugs. “It’s a nice place. Urahara seems friendly enough, and so does Hinamori. But man, those Working Joes…” He shudders slightly. “Pardon my French, but they’re fucking creepy. I even had a nightmare about the Working Joes last night.”Unohana looks curious at this. “Is that so?” she asks.“Yeah.” Renji laughs bitterly. “I can’t remember the last time I actually didn’t have nightmares or bizarre dreams. Feels like a lifetime ago, honestly.”“How did you cope with your nightmares from last night?”“Well, I woke up at around four this morning,” Renji tells her. “I then got out of bed and went to the veranda just to calm down. But as it turned out, General Kuchiki was also awake, so he and I just talked.”“And how did that go?” Unohana asks.Renji is silent for a moment before he speaks. “He and I… we’re a lot more similar than I expected. He also lost his team of men back when he was a Major, and suffered a lot in the aftermath,” he admits. “Is… Is that why he wants to train me? Because he sees himself in me or something like that? I mean, he told me that I have potential and all that, but… I dunno, I’m not too sure why he actually wants to train me.”At that, Unohana looks thoughtful. “I’m afraid I don’t have a straight answer to that,” she admits. “But yes, he did go through a disaster like something you went through, and was sent to see me in order to recover. And he was also the one to send you to me as well, right?”“Yeah.”“It does seem like you remind him of himself when he was younger,” Unohana suggests. “But again, only the General will know the answer to your question. So perhaps it’s best that you ask him.”Renji nods. “You’re right,” he says. “When should I ask him, though? And how do I talk to him about this?”“Approach him in private, of course,” Unohana says. “As for when to approach him, that’s up to you to decide. If you want to ask him now, then go ahead. If you want to wait a bit, then wait. But remember this: the General has good intentions for you, so don’t be accusatory or suspicious. You wouldn’t like it if someone did the same to you.”Nodding again, Renji asks, “what else should I remember to do?”“Don’t make it a massive issue. And if he doesn’t want to tell you, don’t force him. He’s already suffered once, so don’t make him suffer again.”That makes Renji pause. Perhaps it’s best to wait for a bit before asking him. His instinct is telling him to wait, and he decides to listen to it. After all, his instincts have never been wrong before.That night, after dinner, Renji decides to ask the General, so he leaves the mess hall to find him. To his luck, General Kuchiki is in the lounge, reading something from his datapad. "Sir, can I ask you something?"General Kuchiki looks up from his datapad. "Go ahead. Have a seat," he says.Renji sits down across from him. "I... I had something on my mind today," he admits. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but... why did you want to train me here in Okinawa? I know you told me that it's because I have potential, but even then, I'm still curious. You've done a lot for me, and I'm really grateful for it, but still... why?"A thoughtful expression crosses the General's face. "Indeed, I did say that you have potential," he remembers. "But you do remind me of myself when I was younger, and I'm being honest when I say that, Corporal." He sighs. "I'll admit, I don't really know how to answer this question. I do want you to reach your potential, Abarai, but also..."He seems to not know what words to say. But finally, he speaks. "I know how it feels to be stuck, Abarai," he says. "I know how it feels to believe that you're responsible for so many deaths. I've felt worthless and alone for so long, and I don't want you feeling like that. I want to help you understand that life is not a nightmare. Life is very much worth living. All we need to do is get stronger, and even if we have our ups and downs, that's all just a part of living." General Kuchiki looks a little unsure. "Do... Do you understand what I mean?"Renji lets his words sink in, and he nods. "Yeah, I guess I do," he says."What I'm trying to say is that you're not alone, Abarai. Other people have gone through hard times and pushed through, and I have no reason to think you won't." A slight smile crosses General Kuchiki's face. "Does that answer your question?""I guess it does." Again, Renji smiles weakly. "Thank you, sir."General Kuchiki nods. "Good. You are very much appreciated here, Abarai. You have to get past that cloud in your head that's telling you that you're worthless," he tells him.It's easier said than done, Renji thinks. But maybe he can work on it. After all, the General believes in him, so maybe he should start believing in himself a little more.
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A week of intense training passes, and before Renji even realizes, it’s Sunday, and the first week is almost over. And fortunately, Sunday is a rest day for them, which means that they’re free to go into the city and explore the area. Bazz-B is going to check out the Sakaemachi Arcade, Muguruma and Mila Rose are heading to the Shikina-en garden, and Renji is going to the Shuri Castle.It feels a little bit weird to dress up in civilian clothes. He’s gotten so used to wearing his fatigues, service uniform, and dress uniform, that it’s kind of odd to be out of uniform for a moment. But Renji has to admit, it does feel kind of relieving to not be in cargo pants and industrial boots today. Instead, he’s wearing a white tank-top and blue jeans, and his hair is up in a ponytail with a bandana around his forehead.Waiting along with him at the bus stop are Bazz-B, Mila Rose, and Muguruma. Like Renji, they’re all dressed in civilian clothes instead of fatigues.As they wait for the bus, Bazz-B glances at Renji. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in civvies, Abarai,” he says.Renji raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” he asks.“I guess we got so used to seeing you in some uniform that we thought you just didn’t have any civilian clothes,” Mila Rose says.Well, Mila Rose does have a point, Renji supposes. He hasn’t taken leave in a while now.Even then, Renji can’t help but chuckle. “You know, just because I’m a lifer doesn’t mean I wear the dress uniform or my boots and utes twenty-four-seven,” he tells them. “Hell, I even have my own apartment to live in when I’m on leave.”Muguruma raises an eyebrow. “Huh. Never would’ve figured,” he says. “Dunno why, but I thought you and Zaraki just lived in barracks or something.”Renji snorts slightly. “Come on, now. Even we need some place to go to on leave,” he chides gently.At that moment, the bus pulls up at the stop, and the doors open up. Renji steps inside and the others follow him. As Muguruma and Mila Rose take a seat in the right row towards the front, Renji and Bazz-B take a seat in the left row, also towards the front right by Muguruma and Mila Rose.As the bus starts driving to Shikina-en garden, the first stop in its circuit, Renji glances at the others. “So, you guys have any plans once your contracts are up?” he asks. “I know it’ll be in a few years, but I’m just curious, that’s all.”Bazz-B shrugs. “I dunno, really,” he admits. “Probably get myself a house by the beach, settle down, find someone and get married. You know, all that stuff.”“Oh? You got someone already?” Renji asks, raising an eyebrow.“N-No…” Bazz-B averts his eyes.“I don’t really know either,” Muguruma adds. “I just hope that Mila Rose and I don’t have to go back to prison once our contract’s up.”Renji nods. “Fair enough,” he says.Compared to Bazz-B, who will have an easier time with leaving the Corps, Mila Rose and Muguruma will have a longer process to go through. All Bazz-B will have to do is go to an office and sign a paper to either get a new contract or start a civilian life. Meanwhile, because Mila Rose and Muguruma enlisted from prison, they’ll have to meet with officers and a civilian representative and get all their records looked at not just by the Gotei but by civilian law enforcement as well, in order to make sure they’re not going to commit crimes the minute they’re discharged.It’s not a very easy process, so it’s understandable why neither of them want to think about it right now. And that’s fine. Renji’s not going to push them if they don’t want to talk.When the bus stops at Shikina-en garden, Muguruma and Mila Rose disembark along with a few other people. Then it stops at downtown Naha, where Bazz-B gets off. And a short while later, it finally arrives at the entrance to Shuri Castle, where Renji disembarks.After paying the admission fee, Renji picks up an audio guide and headset, and heads into the grounds of the beautiful Ryukyuan castle.At some point during his tour, Renji sees Ise and Orihime also touring the castle grounds, to his pleasant surprise. So they just talk a little bit and catch up, and Renji is also introduced to Ise’s friend Matsumoto Rangiku, a fitness instructor who has her own gym in Shibuya.But while it’s a pleasant surprise to see them again, Renji also ends up discussing some dark events that have been happening recently. Some of them include the recent presence of Weyland-Yutani PMCs, or Private Military Contractors, in and around Naha. But there are other things going on as well.“Apparently, locals have been going missing for a while now,” Orihime is saying. “They go out for walks in the evening, and just… vanish.”“Even weirder, the authorities haven’t really been giving much information,” Ise adds.“It’s strange, but I don’t think we can act yet,” Renji tells them. “The authorities haven’t reached out to us yet, so until then, we can’t really get involved until the situation escalates.”A short while after meeting up with the three ladies, they end up parting ways. So Renji is on his own again, and after some walking around, he ends up at the Kinju-Tsumesho, sitting on a bench and watching the informational video as he rests his feet. He takes a drink of water from his bottle, barely paying attention to the speaker on the video.“Sit up straight when you do that.”Instinctively, Renji straightens up as he looks over his shoulder. Standing behind the bench is Aizen Sousuke, a retired Colonel.“S-Sir! I… I didn’t think I’d see you here,” Renji says, still surprised.Aizen smiles. “Well, I’m out of uniform, remember?” he says, sitting down on the opposite bench. “I didn’t think I’d see you here in Naha. Aren’t you with Zaraki’s unit?”“I am. But I’m here because General Kuchiki is training me, Black, Muguruma, and Mila Rose for three weeks.”“Is that so?” Aizen looks pleasantly surprised. “You know, I also heard that you’ve been awarded an Order of the Noble Sakura. Congratulations on that, Corporal.”“Thank you,” Renji says, smiling briefly.“You’ve definitely come a long way from Iwashiro,” Aizen continues. “According to Colonel Kyoraku, he said it physically hurt to look at you when you’d come to Gateway. I can only imagine the pain you went through after something like that.” Why’s he talking about this? Renji can’t help but wonder. “It was awful,” he agrees. “And honestly, I don’t think my unit should’ve gone on that mission. I don’t care if it was a simple investigation; we couldn’t get along, we didn’t have enough ammo, and we’d never done a deep space mission before that. And we didn’t even know enough about what enemy we were up against.”A serious expression crosses Aizen’s face. “Indeed, something doesn’t sound right about that,” he says.“But I don’t want to just randomly accuse someone of sending us to that shithole,” Renji admits. “I don’t know who sent the order, or why Sergeant Amagai accepted it, but it shouldn’t have happened. And I don’t think I’ll ever rest until I get closure for it.”“That’s understandable,” Aizen says. “But I would be careful, Abarai. Some things in this world are better left unanswered, for the sake of your own sanity.”Renji looks at him, confused. He’s about to say more when he feels his phone buzzing in his pocket. Pulling it out of his pocket, he gives a quick apology to Aizen before answering.“Hello?”“Abarai, we need you to come back to base.” It’s Shihouin, and her voice sounds serious. “We’re calling Black, Mila Rose, and Muguruma right now, and we’ve sent cars to your locations to bring you back to base. We’ll brief you once you’ve arrived.”“Yes, ma’am,” Renji says before hanging up.He gives Aizen an apologetic smile. “Sorry, sir, but I have to return to base now,” he says. “It was nice meeting you.”“Of course,” Aizen says with a smile. “I hope to see you again soon.”Renji nods, a small smile briefly flickering on his face before he becomes serious again. “Take care,” he says.With that, he heads out of the room and out of the castle complex to the car that’s already waiting for him. And within him, something in his stomach clenches out of uneasiness.A short while after they arrive at the base and change back into their fatigues again, they head down to the meeting room for a quick briefing. Waiting for them are Tousen and Shihouin, both of whom are dressed in their fatigues as well.“Perfect timing,” Shihouin tells them as the door slides shut.“Captain, Major,” Renji says in greeting. “What’s the situation?”“There’s been a chemical gas leak at an abandoned Seegson warehouse not too far from Naha,” Tousen explains. “General Kuchiki and Colonels Kyoraku and Ukitake have already gone to investigate the site with the Okinawan authorities, and they’re waiting for us. More details will be given on the way there, so go and gear up.”“Yes, sir!” Renji says along with the others.“And once you’ve gotten everything, come outside. There’s a truck waiting for us,” Shihouin adds. “Let’s go, Marines!”With that, Renji and the others head to the armory to put their armour on and ready their weapons. They move as quick as they can, and Renji then grabs his pulse rifle and ammo, locking and loading it before rushing outside. Almost immediately, he’s followed by Bazz-B, Muguruma, and Mila Rose, all of whom have their gear and weapons ready. Outside, there’s a truck parked, and Urahara is in the driver’s seat.“Man, I’ve missed my smartgun!” Muguruma declares as they run back out into the humid heat.“Damn right!” Mila Rose agrees.“Alright, get into the truck, now!” Shihouin orders.“Yes, Captain!” Renji climbs into the back of the windowless truck first, stowing his weapon before settling down.Everyone else follows him inside, stowing their weapons before they sit down, and then Shihouin and Tousen come inside and shut the doors.Almost immediately, Urahara starts up the truck. But before they leave, Shihouin turns on the in-vehicle VidiCom screen and punches in a number“Who’re you callin’, Captain?” Bazz asks.“She’s calling Dr. Kuchiki Rukia,” Tousen says. “According to a poisoned witness who had gone into the building, he had discovered some crystal-like flowers inside there. Those are polar flowers from LV-883, the ones that Dr. Kuchiki has been studying. We don’t have a lot of information about those plants, but some of those samples were stolen from Dr. Kuchiki’s lab two days ago, so she’ll be giving us more information about the plants on our way to the site. ”Renji is surprised. He remembers Rukia telling him about those polar flowers a while ago, even showing him a photo of them. So those flowers are responsible for this gas spill? But how did that even happen?Unconsciously, his fists clench. Something is not right about this. Renji doesn’t know why he feels so anxious, but it’s not a good feeling.Just what the hell has happened?“One thing we do know, however-” Shihouin says, snapping Renji out of his thoughts, “-is that this gas is highly toxic. So you’ll be needing these.”She hands them all the standard-issued gas masks of the Gotei: M50 joint service general purpose masks. “Filters have already been fitted, so just put them on once we get there,” she tells them.For now, Renji lets the mask hang from his neck, and so do Bazz-B, Mila Rose, and Muguruma. But that uneasy feeling within starts to grow a little bit stronger.As the truck starts driving away from the base, the VidiCom screen connects, and Rukia comes on-screen. Renji briefly considers waving at her, but decides against it. Now’s not the time.“Good to see you, Dr. Kuchiki,” Shihouin greets. “Hope we’re not calling at a bad time now?”“Not at all, Captain,” Rukia says, her voice serious. “In fact, it’s perfect timing, actually.”“What can you tell us about the polar flowers?” Tousen asks her.“Right.” Rukia reads through her notes before speaking. “The polar flowers are incredibly dangerous, as you may already know. These flowers emit a toxic fume that induces several side effects when inhaled, most notably hallucinations, convulsions, and mutations through rewriting the victim’s DNA.”Renji’s eyes widen at that. Rewriting someone’s DNA? Just what the hell kind of plant is that?“Hold on a minute. Did you just say ‘mutation’?” Mila Rose demands, looking equally stunned.Rukia nods. “Exactly,” she says. “Side effects vary depending on inhalation time. Level One exposure involves mild hallucinations and confusion. Level Two of exposure has the victim suffering from mild dementia, along with an increased heart rate, a heightened sense of paranoia, and the severity of hallucinations will steadily increase as well. Those two stages are still treatable to an extent.”“But what about prolonged exposure?” Tousen asks.A grim expression crosses Rukia’s face. “Level Three of exposure is when the cells will begin to mutate, and the victim will also experience vertigo and cerebral dysmorphia,” she says. “I was still doing research on Levels Four and Five when my samples were stolen, but I do think it’s safe to say that exposure to the flowers beyond nine hours is extremely dangerous.” If any civilians have breathed that shit in… Renji thinks with a mounting dread.He glances at Shihouin and Tousen, that uneasiness growing even more. “Any news about casualties?” Renji asks them.“There are a few civilian casualties, and they’ve been taken to the hospital for immediate treatment. However, the rest of the civilian population in that area have already been evacuated,” Shihouin says.“I’m coming down to Naha as we speak, actually,” Rukia tells them. “I’m on the plane now, and once I land, I’ll be heading down to the hospital.”“One last thing,” Renji says. “Just what the hell are those flowers?”“I don’t know yet,” Rukia says. But before she can say anything else, the truck comes to a stop.“Oh, sounds like we’re here. We’ll see you in a few hours, Dr. Kuchiki,” Shihouin tells her.Once she’s disconnected the VidiCom, Shihouin turns to Renji and the others. “Get those masks on, Marines!” she orders.Without hesitating, Renji puts the mask on over his face and adjusts the straps so that it’s fitting comfortably. He then activates the filters and voice projection unit before he grabs his pulse rifle, getting it ready. Bazz-B, Mila Rose, and Muguruma also do the same, and once their masks are on, they grab and prep their weapons just as Shihouin and Tousen come by to check on them, the both of them already having their masks on their faces and weapons in hand.“Alright, you guys are good. Let’s get going now!” Shihouin says as the doors open up.Tousen rushes out, and Renji follows him, leading the rest of his squadmates outside. Urahara also follows them, though he doesn’t have to wear a gas mask.They’re in a thick jungle-like area, and Renji immediately sees Okinawan authorities and crime scene investigators in gas masks moving in and out of the area near the warehouse. But what really catches his eye is the thick mist that hangs in the air.It’s definitely not a natural mist, that much Renji knows. And that uneasy feeling within him is growing stronger than ever.When they near the warehouse, they see General Kuchiki and Colonels Kyoraku and Ukitake already there, dressed in fatigues with gas masks on their faces as well. Also with them is Superintendent Iemura, the head of the Naha Police Department.“Good. You’ve arrived,” General Kuchiki says.“When did this leak happen?” Tousen asks.“We received our first call about half an hour ago,” Iemura tells them. “According to witness reports, there was an explosion within this warehouse. Nearby residents rushed to investigate, and they ended up inhaling the fumes. They’ve been rushed to the ICU now, but I felt that this situation requires military presence, which is why I’ve called you here.”While the officers continue speaking, Renji just observes the area to look for anything suspicious when he notices something bizarre in the jungle flora.The mist is making all of these plants mutate in some way. No, these plants aren’t mutating. They’re… decomposing. And it’s not just that. They’re rapidly disintegrating and turning into some other kind of lifeform. Something that’s so eerily… organic.Renji swallows, trying not to let his anxiety overwhelm him now.“General!” Renji calls, getting everyone’s attention. “You need to see this! I think the mist is affecting the plants here as well!”General Kuchiki comes over, and his eyes widen slightly at the sight before him. “What the hell is this?” he asks.Urahara examines the plants carefully. “It appears these plants are decomposing,” he says. “But this is not your typical decomposition. It’s more like these plants are disintegrating and then mutating into… whatever this is.”“Could it be the mist that’s causing this?” Iemura asks him.“It sounds like it.” Urahara looks serious. “I hate to say this, but we’re going to have to burn down this entire area. It’s the only way to get rid of the infection.”General Kuchiki does not look pleased with that information. “You’re right,” he says with a sigh.“If those flowers were in the warehouse…” Mila Rose trails off as she glances at the warehouse.“Someone was here,” Renji says grimly. “Maybe it was the person who stole those samples.”“Right.” General Kuchiki looks at everyone. “Let’s go and investigate the warehouse now. I want you to check every room, every cabinet, and report whatever it is you find. Even if it seems unimportant, report it. We’re going to need all the evidence we can get to figure this shit out.”“Yes, sir!”“Abarai, you take your squadmates and investigate the upper level. I’ll take the others and we’ll investigate the main level,” General Kuchiki orders. “Come on, people! Let’s move!”Without hesitation, they rush to the warehouse and enter it.The air inside is probably saturated with the fumes of the polar flowers. Renji can’t tell when this warehouse was abandoned, but it’s definitely been abandoned for a long time. The walls are decorated with graffiti, and debris is scattered almost everywhere.As Renji leads his squadmates up the stairs, he feels an icy sensation in his stomach, and a lump forms in his throat. He can’t help but remember LV-352 as they start a sweep of the whole second level.“Let’s split up,” Renji orders into his headset. “Report anything you find, and stay frosty and alert, got it?”“Got it,” Bazz-B says.They split up and start investigating different rooms. As they go through the rooms, Renji does gradually start to see signs of habitation. Some of these rooms appear to have recently gone under minor renovations of some kind, and he even sees little things like papers and pens on what appears to be makeshift desks.As Renji looks through a dusty bookshelf, he hears Bazz-B’s voice come through his headset. “You guys. I found something you might wanna see,” he says.“What is it?” Renji asks. “There’s a computer terminal here, and I found some files on it that were in the process of being deleted. I managed to stop the deletion, but the files are encrypted,” Bazz-B tells them.Renji nods. “Alright,” he says. “Inform the General about this as well. I’m on my way.”He turns to leave but a slight thud on the ground makes him stop. Glancing behind him, Renji notices a journal on the floor.Feeling curious, Renji approaches the journal and picks it up. He then opens it to see if there’s any evidence in the pages. The first few pages have some notes that Renji can’t really make out, but manages to decipher in the end.“‘Bioweapon of Engineers… derelict ship…’” Renji mumbles, feeling his stomach sink.He flips through a few pages before noticing a sketch on one of them. His heart is beating faster now, and as he turns back to the sketch, that sinking feeling grows worse.Renji’s eyes widen in horror when he lands on the sketch. His hands tremble, his heart pounds against his chest, and a lump forms in his throat. “What the hell…?!”Sketched on the page in front of him is a Facehugger.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Renji barely hears the sound of footsteps behind him, and he hardly hears the voices through his headset or the sound of someone calling his name repeatedly. All he can hear is the sound of his own heart beating hard against his chest as the Facehugger sketch registers in his mind.
But… But how? How could this person have known about… about the creatures?! What the hell is going on…?
“... Abarai! Corporal Abarai!” It’s General Kuchiki.The haze in his mind clears, and Renji turns to look at him. “Sir?” he asks.“What happened? We’re waiting for you right now,” General Kuchiki tells him. Then, he notices the journal in Renji’s hands. “What is that?”“Another piece of evidence, sir,” Renji says, hoping he’s not looking too anxious.“Good. Now come. We can look through it once we get out of here.”General Kuchiki turns to leave the room. As Renji follows him, he can’t help but feel… envious.How long will it take before he’s no longer afraid? How long before he can stop letting his fear get in the way? How long will it take until he’s like General Kuchiki?Yes, the General has gone through his own share of pain and trauma. Yes, he has struggled to recover from it. But he’s so strong and firm and simply… peerless. And despite knowing that General Kuchiki has suffered like him, Renji just can’t help but wonder when he himself will be able to recover fully and move forward.“Is something wrong?” General Kuchiki asks.Snapped out of his thoughts, Renji realizes that he’s stopped walking. “Um…” He shakes his head. “I’m fine. It’s okay,” he says, not sure if he’s even convinced himself, let alone the General.General Kuchiki just regards him, and Renji swears that he sees him raise an eyebrow (though he can’t tell under the gas mask). “Come,” he says. “Whatever’s bothering you, you can tell Unohana once we’re done here.”Renji follows the General to the storage room where the others are waiting for him. Sure enough, Bazz-B is standing before a computer terminal, tapping away at the keys. Surrounding him are Shihouin, Tousen, Kyoraku, and Ukitake.“Did anyone find anything else?” Renji asks, looking at Mila Rose and Muguruma.Muguruma nods. “Yeah. We found a few unopened envelopes that were addressed to a Dr. Szayel Aporro Granz,” he says. “Those are also being taken in for evidence.”“Szayel Aporro Granz…” Renji tries to remember if Rukia has told him about that guy before, but nothing comes up in his memory.“Dr. Szayel Aporro Granz?” Tousen glances sharply in their direction.Renji looks curious. “You know him, sir?” he asks.“Who doesn’t?” Shihouin asks, sighing. “That guy… he’s even worse than Dr. Kurotsuchi.”That only raises more questions, but before Renji can ask anything, General Kuchiki speaks.“We also found the polar flowers. Most of them, at least,” General Kuchiki says. “They’re being put into stasis tubes right now, and we’re sending them to a laboratory in Naha for Urahara and Dr. Kuchiki to study.”“What caused the explosion, sir?” Mila Rose asks.“We discovered a gas leak in the room that stored the polar flowers,” Ukitake tells her. “The explosion was most likely caused when the fumes of the flowers came into contact with the gas that was leaking from the pipes.”Renji nods and then glances at Bazz-B. “Can you access those files?” he asks.Bazz-B shakes his head. “They’re too heavily encrypted,” he says. “I can’t run a bypass or hack any of the codes with my equipment. We’re gonna need more advanced stuff to decrypt them.”“Can you transfer the files somehow?” Shihouin asks him.“Yeah,” Bazz-B says, taking a hard disk drive from his technician kit. “I can transfer them onto a hard drive, and then we can take ‘em back to base for decryption.”He slides the drive into the computer terminal so that the files can be transferred. It doesn’t take too long, and the drive pops back out. Bazz-B takes it and puts it away into his kit as he stands back up. “And that’s it,” he says.“We also got some evidence in here,” Renji says, showing the journal. “I think it would be pretty useful.”“Now then, let’s get out of here,” General Kuchiki tells them. “We’ve set up a decontamination portable away from the area, so make sure you all go through it. Fresh fatigues have also been set out for you, so you can dispose of the clothes you’re wearing currently. Your armour and weaponry will also be decontaminated, so don’t worry about replacing them.”“What about the evidence we’ve got?” Mila Rose asks.“Also decontaminated. Now let’s go so we can burn this area and stop the mist from spreading.” General Kuchiki doesn’t look too happy as he says that.As they walk out, Mila Rose looks at Renji. “So… looks like training’s gonna be put on hold?” she asks.“Most likely,” Renji says.The mist doesn’t seem to react to fire, which is a good thing. But Renji has to admit, watching this part of the jungle burn is pretty sad. Then again, it’s important to ensure that this infection doesn’t spread to civilians or to other parts of the area.By the time they’re done with decontamination, changed into their fresh fatigues, and have returned to base, it’s already evening.Renji has been on edge ever since they arrived back. All he can do right now is just pick at dinner, and he’s not the only one.The atmosphere is somewhat tense, and there’s hardly any conversation among anyone. Even Bazz-B is pretty quiet. Whether it’s because they had to burn down a part of the jungle, whether it’s because of what they’ve found, no one knows. Renji can’t even try and eat dinner right now. All he can do is think about the warehouse and that notebook.“Whatever we just found today, I don’t like it,” Muguruma declares tensely.Kyoraku nods pensively. “Something is rotten here in Okinawa,” he says, his eyes cast downwards.Bazz-B glances at Renji. “By the way, you looked really… shaken,” he recalls. “What did you find, Abarai?”Renji sighs. “I… I don’t really wanna talk about it now,” he says.“Come on, man. Why don’t you tell us?”“I can’t,” Renji says, getting frustrated. “Goddammit, when I say ‘no’, why can’t you respect that for once?”Quickly, he realizes what he’s just said, and averts his eyes. “I’m sorry, Bazz,” he says sincerely. “I shouldn’t have said that.”Bazz-B just offers him a smile. “No hard feelings, man,” he says. “I just got a little worried.”“Still, that wasn’t…” Renji trails off before he just smiles weakly at Bazz-B. “Alright. Well, you’ll find out tomorrow, I guess.”“Indeed you will,” General Kuchiki says, getting their attention. “As of tomorrow, your training will be put on hold. We’re dealing with a potential threat here, especially after what happened at the warehouse, and I’ll need your full cooperation with this investigation.”With a serious look, General Kuchiki continues speaking. “You are not to speak a word of any of this in public,” he tells them. “Don’t mention Granz’s name, don’t discuss the infected civilians, and don’t even talk about those goddamn flowers. All information regarding this incident is to remain strictly classified, understood?”“Yes, sir,” Renji and his squadmates say at the same time.“Good. I want to see all three of you at the briefing room tomorrow at ten-hundred,” the General tells them. “Right now, Urahara is starting the decryption process, but we’ll also be getting some help from Ushoda Hachigen, a specialized military hacker. He’s on his way right now, and you’ll be able to meet him tomorrow. Dr. Kuchiki will also be coming tomorrow to discuss her findings with us.”With that, silence falls over the table again as everyone takes in this new information. Renji tries to eat some of his dinner, but he just can’t work up his appetite anymore, so he gets up and disposes of his tray before heading to the computer terminal in the lounge to do some research on Szayel Aporro Granz.According to Shihouin, he’s even worse than the late Kurotsuchi, which had raised a lot of questions within him. And considering what Kurotsuchi had done at Hokutan, Renji can’t help but wonder what the hell this Szayel Aporro Granz had done to be labeled as worse than Kurotsuchi.Sitting down at the terminal, Renji types in ‘Szayel Aporro Granz’ in the browser search bar. The page loads quickly and several search results come up. The first link is to his mini-bio on the website of the Company’s Science Department, so Renji clicks on that link, feeling a little curious.The guy in the photo definitely looks like a mad scientist, Renji thinks. With his pink hair, thin glasses, and eyes that hold a disturbing glint, Granz definitely looks suspicious. According to the bio, Granz is originally from Europe, but has been working here for a few years after graduating with a PhD from the high-ranking University College London. He’s also done a lot of research regarding life on other planets, and is currently working on developing bioweapons through the use of off-planet lifeforms.For some reason, that rings a warning bell in Renji’s mind as he goes back to the browser. Trying to quell that alarm in his mind, he looks through the other results that have shown up, only for the uneasiness to become stronger as he reads through them.Most of the other results are news stories. And most of those news articles are controversies surrounding Granz, particularly the rather shady nature of his experiments. According to one of them, he’s done some borderline-unethical things in his research, often without the consent of his subjects. To save face, Weyland-Yutani had put him on leave a few years ago, but immediately allowed him to return within a few months.Feeling even more disturbed now, Renji closes the browser and shuts off the terminal. Just as he gets up to leave, he sees General Kuchiki coming into the lounge, holding a Pushkin novel in his hands. Upon seeing Renji, he pauses.“What are you doing, Abarai?” he asks.“Just some research on Szayel Aporro Granz, sir,” Renji says. “But I’m done now.”“I see.” General Kuchiki takes a seat on a chair and opens his book. “You seemed very disturbed by that journal you found.”Renji nods. “To be honest, sir, this whole incident is disturbing,” he tells him.“Indeed.” General Kuchiki frowns darkly. “I don’t know what those polar flowers are, but as soon as this shit is sorted out, I’m going to set those goddamn flowers on fire myself. To hell with the Company’s experiments.”Renji can’t help but stare at him in surprise. He never expected the General to make that kind of declaration, honestly. “Is that so, sir?”“Yeah. I’ve seen a lot of bullshit from Weyland-Yutani, and this is definitely the last straw,” the General says. “Their sheer disregard for other people beyond those in charge, their willingness to throw people under the bus for a goddamn percentage… it’s disgusting.”“It is.”General Kuchiki sighs, and he looks rather sad now. “I speak from personal experience,” he says. “You know I was married, right?”“Yes, sir,” Renji says. He knows about Kuchiki Hisana, the older sister of Rukia, and how she’d helped raise him and Rukia when they were kids. But then she’d left Inuzuri after getting a job with Weyland-Yutani, shortly around the time when their friends were killed. She helped enroll Renji and Rukia in high school, and the rest was history.“My wife, Hisana, she worked as a spaceship pilot for the Company,” General Kuchiki says. “The ship she worked on was very unsafe, and at some point, she ended up contracting brain cancer. The higher-ups refused to give her time-off for treatment, and threatened to terminate her contract if she didn’t do one last trip.” He sighs sadly. “In the end, her cancer grew worse, and by the time she was given that break for treatment, it was too late. She died while I was in LV-245, and I only found out about her death when I got back.”Renji looks down. “I’m so sorry, sir,” he says. He has to admit that he feels a little honoured that the General trusts him this much to share his story, honestly.“If Weyland-Yutani didn’t care so much about their profit, Hisana would still be alive now,” General Kuchiki says. “But no. The Company doesn’t give a damn about their employees, and they repaid Hisana’s loyalty to them by refusing to let her go through treatment. And for that, I will never forgive them.”“Amen to that, sir,” Renji agrees, sounding a little bit bitter. "They don't even treat Marines right. They all think we're just dumb muscle that can be replaced. It was made pretty clear when those WeYu representatives tried to get Colonel Kyoraku to have me discharged, the jackasses. God... I just wanted to tell 'em to go fuck themselves right then.""That's definitely understandable," General Kuchiki says with a dry smile. After a brief moment of silence, Renji moves to leave. “I’m turning in for the night now. Good night, sir.”“Good night, Corporal.”Renji’s eyes fly open as he nearly jolts up in bed. His heart is pounding, his body is covered in sweat, and his mind is reeling from the nightmare. Sitting up slowly, Renji rubs his face and takes a deep breath to try and calm his heart when he notices that it’s already four-thirty in the morning. He glances over at Muguruma and Bazz-B, and is relieved to see that they’re still in bed, very much alive.The nightmares were so much vivid last night. This time, Renji had dreamed of losing everyone in this unit on LV-352, but there had been a lot more things happening. He’d dreamed of the creatures, the polar flowers, and other strange, bizarre things that made no sense at all.He hasn’t had a nightmare this bad since the aftermath of Iwashiro, but this one… the only word to describe it is bizarre. The polar flowers have definitely bothered him more than he thought they have.Renji sighs. He’s going to have to see Unohana at some point, before he gets messed up by any more nightmares.Not feeling like sleeping anymore, he climbs out of bed, ties his hair up in a ponytail, and makes his way over to the chin-up bar near the window. Renji reaches up and grabs it, and silently does some chin-ups to try and calm his mind down. Geez, I’m turning into Mila Rose… he realizes. Not that it stops him from his chin-ups.Within a short while, Renji has worked up a sweat, and so he drops down from the bar, takes his toiletries and a fresh set of fatigues, and heads to the bathrooms for a shower. He briefly considers using the sento as well, but decides against it. There’ll be time in the evening.Renji makes sure not to take too long in the shower, and then he brushes his teeth before changing into his fatigues. After tying his hair into its usual low ponytail, he takes a look at himself in the mirror, noticing some slight dark circles under his eyes. So he washes his face and adjusts his dog tags before leaving the bathroom.The hours seem to pass by slowly after everyone else wakes up and gets ready for the day. Renji doesn’t eat much for breakfast, since he just can’t work up an appetite this morning and he doesn’t know why.Finally, it’s ten-hundred, and they’re all called down to the meeting room. General Kuchiki and the other officers are already there, along with Urahara, Rukia, and Ushoda Hachigen.“Good, you’re all here,” General Kuchiki greets them. “Now then, let’s get started.”The large screens in the meeting room are powered on as General Kuchiki starts speaking. “As I told you yesterday, Urahara was able to start the decryption process. But not all the files have been decrypted yet.”That’s when Ushoda starts speaking. “It’ll take some time for all of the files to be fully decrypted,” he explains. “But we have managed to uncover a few that are quite pertinent to this investigation.”“So while we prepare the files, Dr. Kuchiki will share her findings on the polar flowers,” Shihouin tells them.Rukia clears her throat as she gets her notes out. “Right,” she says. “Yesterday, I went to the ICU to see the infected civilians. Most of them are fine, as their levels of infection are still treatable. Unfortunately, three of them have died from prolonged exposure to the polar flowers.”Renji recalls the three stages of exposure to these flowers as he feels a sinking feeling in his gut. “You said you’d discovered three stages of exposure, right?” he asks her. “What else did you find?”“Well, I found out what’s involved in stages four and five,” Rukia says grimly. “In stage four, the victim will experience advanced dementia as well as DNA recoding.”Renji’s stomach clenches. “So you mean--”“Further mutation,” Rukia confirms. “And lastly, stage five results are a complete mutation, instinctual aggression, and, when the fumes are inhaled through the mouth, eventual disintegration of DNA.”Ice forms in Renji’s stomach. Everyone else looks quite unsettled at that piece of information.“What the hell kind of flower is that?” Muguruma asks.“I don’t think those flowers are natural at all,” Rukia says. “For something like that to have such horrific side effects… all I can suggest is that it’s a bio-weapon of some kind. I even have some photos of the victims’ mutation process.”“Show them,” Kyoraku tells her.Rukia nods and taps a few keys at the computer terminal. A few moments later, the photos come up on the large screens.Renji stares at the screens, completely speechless. His stomach clenches again, and he suddenly feels a kind of helplessness he hasn’t felt in such a long time, not since Iwashiro. “Holy shit…” he whispers. “Órale…” Mila Rose says, stunned.And they’re not the only ones. Muguruma and Bazz-B are just as shocked, and so are the other officers. Even General Kuchiki looks visibly disturbed.The victims look unrecognizable. Even worse, they seem to have been mutating in a way that sets off alarms in Renji’s mind. Their heads seem to be elongating, their bodies becoming more skeletal…It’s absolutely gruesome. And it’s all too familiar for Renji.“Is this…?” Bazz-B asks, looking at Renji.Renji swallows and nods. “Definitely,” he says.General Kuchiki looks at Renji and Bazz-B. “What are you talking about?” he asks.“They look almost like… like the creatures from Iwashiro, and from LV-352,” Renji says. “It’s not completely alike, but the appearance is pretty similar.”“Yeah,” Mila Rose agrees. “This is really getting fucked up. Do you think that Szayel Aporro Granz left those flowers in that warehouse as a way of getting… test subjects?” she asks.“If so, then that’s really fucked,” Renji says.“It wouldn’t surprise me if he did,” Rukia agrees, looking very upset. “Granz… I had a hunch that he was the one who stole my samples, and as it turns out, he did.”“What’s that guy’s deal anyways? Why are most of Weyland-Yutani’s scientists complete lunatics?” Mila Rose asks.Before Rukia can say anything, Ushoda speaks. “We’ve got the file ready,” he says.“Very well. Bring it up,” General Kuchiki orders.The photos disappear as the first file comes up. The title at the top is labelled ‘Project XX121’, and gradually, information starts showing up.“‘Project XX121…’” Renji murmurs, watching the words automatically typing themselves up. Of course, at the top of the screen, he notices the Weyland-Yutani logo, and he sighs.General Kuchiki also looks very exasperated at that. “Goddamn Weyland-Yutani…” he mutters.“Do you know anything about this, Dr. Kuchiki?” Urahara asks, looking at Rukia.Rukia shakes her head. “No, I don’t,” she says.By now, all the folders within the main file have come up, and Renji reads over the labels: ‘Subject’, ‘Initiatives’, ‘Operations’, and ‘Special Orders’.“Punch up that folder over there,” General Kuchiki orders, pointing to the Subject folder.“Yes, sir.” Urahara selects the folder, opening it up.The folder enlarges on the screen and the first thing that comes up on the screen are four subfolders.Renji narrows his eyes as the description of the subject is typed out automatically on the screen. “‘Xenomorph XX121’,” he reads silently, again feeling that dread rising up within him.Then the subject image appears and Renji freezes in his place, stunned speechless. “No…” he whispers. “God, no…”Right up on the screen, clear as day, with its snarling mouth and elongated head, is none other than the creature that changed Renji’s life forever.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Renji’s not the only one who’s shocked. His squadmates also stare up at the screens, looking just as stunned.“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Muguruma demands.“These again?!” Mila Rose looks outraged.“The fuck is this?!” Bazz-B snaps. “How the fuck does Weyland-Yutani know about these fucking things?!”Ignoring Bazz-B’s excessive cursing, Renji closes his eyes momentarily, trying to quell that dread within him. When he opens his eyes, he notices that all the officers are looking at them, obviously surprised and curious at their outburst.Rukia looks curiously at Renji. “You’ve… You’ve seen these creatures before?” she asks.Renji nods, his expression darkening. “Yeah,” he says. “On Iwashiro and on LV-352.”General Kuchiki raises an eyebrow before he turns to Renji. “What do you know about this ‘Xenomorph’, Abarai?” he asks.“Is there anything on that file that explains the life cycle?” Renji asks. “I’m sure it has some information.”“Yes, it does,” Urahara says, looking down at the terminal screen. “Would you like me to pull it up, General?”“Go ahead, but I also want to hear it from Abarai and his squadmates themselves, especially from Abarai,” General Kuchiki tells him.“Yes, sir.” Urahara taps a few keys, and Stage One of the creature’s life cycle pops up on the screens: the egg.The subject image shows a representation of the egg unfurling open and closing, along with a mini scan over it. Next to the image is a brief description, including a height of two-foot-six, and colours of black-brown. As it continues listing information, General Kuchiki turns to Renji.“Tell us what you know about this creature,” he says.Renji nods, taking a deep breath before he speaks. “It starts out as an egg,” he says. “Inside those eggs are Facehuggers, which would be the second stage in its cycle.” He gestures to the screen, where it shows an image of the Facehugger crawling out of the egg. “I found a sketch of the Facehugger in that journal in the warehouse.”The selection bar moves to Stage Two, which pops up on the screen. The subject image is now the Facehugger, and even though it’s just an image, Renji flinches and swallows. If anyone sees this, they don’t remark on it.“A-Anyways…” Renji wipes his face before he continues. “The Facehugger is what it sounds like. It latches onto the victim’s face and it can’t be removed because, well…” He gestures to the screen again.On the screen, the description of the properties is being automatically typed out. Rukia reads it out loud, tucking a strand of her long hair behind her ears. “‘Outer layer of protein polysaccharides and many amino acids, making it extremely well suited to prolonged exposure to adverse conditions’,” she reads.“So it’s made-up of acid?” Tousen asks.“Sounds like it,” Rukia says, sounding somewhat incredulous.“It’s got acid blood,” Renji says bluntly. “On Iwashiro, we found a man with a Facehugger on his face.” He closes his eyes briefly before continuing. “We tried pulling it off, but we ran the risk of tearing his face off, so we had to try something else. We then tried to remove it by cutting off the limbs, but it started bleeding acid and threatened to eat a hole into the floor, so…”General Kuchiki’s eyes widen slightly. “Good God…” he says, his voice hushed. “The hell kind of creature is that?”“Can you guys confirm that?” Shihouin asks, looking at Bazz-B, Mila Rose, and Muguruma.Mila Rose nods. “Yeah, we saw it for ourselves,” she says darkly. “Black and I, we saw it on LV-352. One of those things attacked Ise, but we managed to get it off her before it could… impregnate her.”“Impregnate?” Kyoraku repeats, looking quite surprised.This is the part that Renji’s not looking forward to. But nevertheless, he nods. “Yeah,” he says. “I was getting to that. The Facehugger sticks its tube into the victim’s mouth once they’re subdued, and plants an embryo inside them. I dunno how long it takes for that, but once it’s done, it just falls off and dies.”“Does the victim usually know that there’s something inside of them?” Ukitake asks, looking profoundly disturbed.“Some of them do,” Renji says, watching as the selection bar on the screen moves to Stage Three, which pops up on the screen.Even though it’s only an image, Renji feels his skin crawl when he looks at the snake-like chestburster. Rukia reads the description on the screen, also looking just as repulsed.“‘When the embryonic alien is large enough to survive without a host, it bursts through the chest cavity, leaving the host dead. From this point, it rapidly develops into an adult alien’,” Rukia reads. “What the hell?”Renji takes a deep breath before continuing.“Stage Three… that’s the worst one. I saw it on Iwashiro and on LV-352,” he says. “In Iwashiro, we were asking questions to that man when he started choking and then convulsing. We thought he was having a seizure at first, but then his chest suddenly… exploded, and a creature just emerged from the man’s chest. And before any of us could even react, it just escaped. And from there, it developed so quickly into… into…”Right then, Renji’s voice falters as his thoughts are yanked into the back of his head. His vision fades and suddenly, he’s back on Iwashiro.He can feel the cold air gradually becoming humid when they’d found the nest during their search for that thing, he can smell the stench of death and chaos. He can hear the sounds of his squadmates screaming as they’re suddenly ambushed by… by things that are coming out of the walls, the floors, he doesn’t even know where the fuck they’re coming from. He sees Toudou Izaemon showered in acid, hears his screams as he accidentally sets himself on fire with his flamethrower. Renji feels powerless, helpless, so fucking terrified…Get outta here. Get the fuck outta here. Renji bolts out of the nest, knowing that no one’s alive anymore, desperate to get away from there. He can’t let those things get to the others. He can’t.At that moment, he hears muffled voices. It’s impossible to tell if this is part of his flashback or something that’s happening in real life, but Renji hears Rukia calling for him repeatedly.“Renji…! Renji! You’re not there anymore, Renji!” Rukia shouts firmly, grabbing his arm and shaking him slightly.Gradually, his vision clears and Renji returns to the present. Blinking, he notices that he’s gripping onto the table so hard his knuckles are turning white. He then sees Rukia looking at him with worry in her eyes. Likewise, everyone else is also looking at him in concern.Renji looks down, feeling a desperate urge to just run away. Rukia’s seen him like this before, back when he was on leave. But that was in his home, with only her as a witness.To think this happened, right in front of the General and the other officers themselves… it’s shameful.“Is he okay, man?” Bazz-B asks.“I think he’ll be fine,” Rukia says. “You’re alright, Renji. You’re not there anymore.”Ukitake hands him a glass of water, and Renji takes it. Taking a sip, he looks at General Kuchiki. “I’m so sorry, sir,” he says.“You don’t have anything to apologize for,” General Kuchiki tells him. “Can you continue?”Renji nods, trying to steel himself. “I have to,” he says. “I’ll be fine, sir. I can keep going.”“Very well. You can continue when you’re ready.”After a few more sips of water, Renji wipes his face and stands up, steeling himself. “Right,” he says. “As I was saying, after the chestburster erupts, it then rapidly develops into the adult alien.”Stage Four pops up on the screen, showing the subject image of the fully-grown alien. General Kuchiki and the other officers stare at it, both repulsed yet somewhat fascinated, especially at the image of the creature’s inner jaws.“What’s it like as an adult?” General Kuchiki asks.“Extremely dangerous,” Renji says, his voice grave. “It’s also incredibly sadistic. It’ll toy with its prey and prolong their death because it enjoys it. And I’m very sure that it’s not above… above violating its prey either.” He closes his eyes. “Private Kotetsu Kiyone, she… well, I heard her screams over my headset, and when I found her body, it was obvious what it did to her.”Just as he thought, pretty much everyone looks disturbed at that piece of information. Even General Kuchiki can’t hide how appalled he is.“Jesus…” Bazz-B says, stunned.“So it’s not just a mindless killing machine,” Kyoraku observes.“No, sir. Even on LV-352, those things cut the power in the Hokutan facility so it could try and get to us,” Renji recalls. “They’re also very strong as well, since they take their victims alive to be hosts.”“How do you beat them?” General Kuchiki asks.How to kill those things? Renji doesn’t even have a straight answer for him. An entire platoon of hardened, combat-ready soldiers with tons of firepower have a better fighting chance than a team of civilians with non-military weapons. But even then, a soldier’s experience is dependent on a lot of things. After all, Iwashiro and LV-352 had completely different outcomes.As for how to destroy them? Well, the only option is to completely obliterate an infestation, like nuking it from orbit.So with a hardness in his voice that surprises his squadmates, Renji answers. “You don’t beat this thing, General,” he tells him. “You can’t. All you can do is refuse to engage. You have to wipe out every trace, destroy any clue, stop its infection from spreading, and make sure that there’s no chance of the human race ever making contact with it again. Because the moment it makes contact, it’s won.”General Kuchiki nods. “So, complete destruction, then?” he asks.“Yeah. Best thing to do is to take off and nuke it from orbit. It’s the only way,” Renji adds.“But speaking of contact, how did that thing come onto Iwashiro and Hokutan in the first place?” Shihouin asks.Renji pauses. That’s… That’s a very good question. Now that he thinks about it, he really doesn’t know how that happened. But Orihime… she’d probably know.“Ushoda, is there anything on that file that indicates a location or something like that?” Ukitake asks.“There is, but that file still needs decrypting,” Ushoda says.“We can call Orihime,” Renji suggests.“Who?” Kyoraku asks.“Inoue Orihime, she’s the only survivor from Hokutan,” Renji explains. “She’s here in Naha, so we can call her and ask for her account.” Taking a piece of paper, he writes down her contact information and hands it to Kyoraku. “Here’s her contact.”“Thank you.” Kyoraku hands the paper to Urahara. “I want you to contact Inoue Orihime and get her to come down here as soon as possible.”Urahara nods. “Of course, sir.”As Urahara leaves to make the call, General Kuchiki just sighs as he folds his arms over his chest. “Whatever Weyland-Yutani is planning with these creatures, we have to figure it out,” he says. “And we’ll put a stop to those plans, no matter what.”By the time the meeting is finished, Urahara has contacted Orihime, who has agreed to come tomorrow morning at oh-eight-hundred to discuss her experience on LV-352. Now, they’re all free for the afternoon, and Rukia is going to head back to the labs to do some more research on the polar flowers and find out what the hell they are.Meanwhile, Renji has an appointment with Unohana in about half an hour, and he definitely plans to talk about this flashback with her. But first, he’s going to see Rukia off at the gates.As they walk outside, Renji hears Rukia sigh almost wistfully. “It’s been so long since we got to just spend time like this together, right?” she says.Renji nods, his eyes softening a bit. “Yeah,” he agrees.“You’ve changed so much, Renji,” Rukia continues, her tone somber. “Sometimes I wonder what happened to that wild, hot-tempered guy I knew in Inuzuri, especially after something like what just happened in the meeting room.”A wistful smile crosses Renji’s face. “I’m still me, Rukia,” he reassures her. “But my wild, hot-tempered side has just… toned down a bit.”Rukia gives him a pointed look as if to say, ‘Really?’.“Okay, so it’s toned down a lot,” Renji admits, rolling his eyes. “But seriously, it’s not like I’m completely different now.”“Yeah, but… I dunno, you’ve become so different now,” Rukia confesses. “I mean, I still see a little bit of that fiery guy every now and then, but it’s so much more subdued.”“I dunno what to say, Rukia. I mean, being in the Marines does change a person,” Renji says honestly, sliding his hands into his pockets.When they arrive at the gates, Rukia stops and turns to look at Renji. “Well, I’ll see you around, I guess?” she says, a small smile on her face.“Yeah, sure,” Renji says, returning the smile with one of his own. “Try not to miss me too much.”“Same goes to you,” Rukia says with a smirk as she reaches up.Renji bends down slightly to hug her, and she eagerly returns the embrace. She then presses a friendly kiss on Renji’s cheek before pulling away. “Take care, Renji.”“You too.”With that, they part ways. But as Renji is heading back up to the base, the smile slowly disappears from his face as he remembers his near-breakdown in the meeting room.Glancing down at his watch, Renji picks up the pace. He can’t afford to be late for his appointment with Unohana, or else he’ll end up in her bad books. And he does not want to be in Unohana’s bad books.He manages to make it back on time, fortunately. As he sits down, Unohana gives him a mug of tea, which he gratefully accepts.“So, how are you doing, Corporal?” Unohana asks. “I heard about what happened in the meeting room today.”Renji feels a lump in his throat, and he rests his head in his palms. “I… I thought I had my flashbacks under control,” he tells her, his voice soft, almost fragile. “I was giving information about the creatures to the General and then I suddenly found myself in Iwashiro again. It all just came flooding right back, and it was in front of everyone. Right in front of Rukia and my squadmates. In front of the General and the other officers. They all saw me nearly have a breakdown.” He sniffles a little bit, his eyes smarting with tears.And before he can stop himself, a sob spills from his lips. Renji weeps silently, and his body trembles with deep shame. Unohana hands him a tissue box, and Renji takes a tissue.“I don’t get it. I thought I was doing better!” Renji sobs, sounding lost. “But then this happens and now… God, why am I like this?”“I’m sorry that it happened,” Unohana says, her voice soothing. “Unfortunately, recovery isn’t a linear process. There will be setbacks, but that doesn’t mean you’re a failure, Abarai-kun. What matters is that you’re making progress.”Renji blows his nose into the tissue. “Doesn’t really feel like progress, though,” he says. “And we got something major going on now and it’s just making everything worse all over again.”Unohana is silent for a moment before she speaks. “You know, compared to how you were four years ago, you’re doing a lot better today,” she tells him. “Remember what I said about PTSD and depressive illnesses? They blow your negative emotions out of proportion, which is why it’s important to counter them with positive emotions.”“Yeah, I remember.”“Can you tell me something good that happened in the meeting?” Unohana asks him.Renji thinks for a moment. “Telling some higher-ups about the creatures did feel a little cathartic, I guess,” he admits. “Because they didn’t doubt me or try and make me second-guess myself.”“That’s a start,” Unohana says with a smile.And honestly, Renji feels somewhat reassured after hearing that.When his appointment finishes, Renji just takes his sketchbook and pencils before heading to the empty mess hall. He sits down at the table, opens his book up to a fresh page, and starts drawing a nue demon.He’s about halfway through the sketch when he hears footsteps. When he looks up, General Kuchiki is sitting across from him, still in his fatigues.“General?” Renji asks, sitting up straighter.“I want to know what happened on Iwashiro,” General Kuchiki tells him. “I contacted someone to go through the Gotei archives to find the file on that mission, but the archivist in Tokyo told me that it’s long gone. There’s only Colonel Kyoraku’s report from the hearing on Gateway and a transcript of your last transmission from the JSS Kyoka Suigetsu, but those don’t have enough details. I need to understand just how exactly things went to hell on there, Abarai.”Renji nods. “Alright, sir. I’ll tell you,” he says.He tells General Kuchiki about everything. From his dysfunctional unit, to how they were woefully underprepared with very little ammo, to how it had been their first mission in deep space, Renji makes sure he doesn’t leave anything out.General Kuchiki listens to the story carefully, and slowly, he starts to look more and more profoundly disturbed. And Renji can’t blame him, to be honest. What happened on Iwashiro was a nightmare like nothing else.By the time Renji’s finished telling his story, General Kuchiki appears to be thinking about something.“And that is what happened on Iwashiro,” Renji concludes.“Goddamn…” General Kuchiki whispers. A frown crosses his face. “Something’s not right about this. Why the hell was your unit sent out to that station if you hadn’t done a deep space mission before?”Renji looks up. “Sir?”“Your unit was supposed to be dissolved, right? I remember hearing about the issues going on there.”“Yeah.”“Who the hell sent you on that mission? And why with such little preparation?”“I don’t know. Sergeant Amagai just said that the higher-ups just want to see how we work together,” Renji tells him. “After that, I didn’t think about it much because I was just trying to recover. Only recently have I been wondering what the hell was going on, but I don’t wanna make any serious accusations against anyone.”General Kuchiki sighs and rubs his face. “First these flowers, then those creatures, and now this old mission,” he mutters. Opening his eyes, he speaks again.“Alright. I’ve already got a lot of asses to kick, but now I’ve got some more to deal with,” he says. “We got a lot of shit in our hands right now, but we need to find out more about the circumstances of your mission, especially since these creatures seem to be connected with the polar flowers. I don’t care if there’s a lot of red tape to get past, this should never have been swept under the rug. I don't know how the hell Weyland-Yutani knows about those creatures, but I have a feeling there’s a lot more to this than what meets the eye. We need to make sure those who sent you to that hellhole are disciplined appropriately.”Renji is surprised for a moment, but he also feels a bit of gratitude. “Thank you, sir,” he says. “I do hope we can figure out what happened.”“We will, Abarai,” General Kuchiki promises, his voice serious. “And maybe then, you can get some closure.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The next morning, Renji is the one to wait at the gates so he can meet Orihime again. While he does look forward to seeing her, this meeting is far from casual; it’s strictly professional, so he must behave accordingly.However, it doesn’t stop him from giving her a smile after she’s done her security check at the gate. “Hey,” he greets as she walks up to him.Orihime smiles. “Good morning, Abarai-kun,” she greets. “How are you?”“Could be better, I guess,” Renji says. “Follow me.”As he leads Orihime to the base, they make some small talk about what’s been happening before the topic changes to the reason why Orihime has been called here.“I’m curious,” Orihime says, looking a little worried. “Why does General Kuchiki want me to recount the events of Hokutan?”“I’m afraid I can’t go into further detail. It’s classified,” Renji tells her. “But you recounting what exactly went down on Hokutan is pertinent, because we’re in the middle of an important investigation right now, and we need all the information we can get.”As they walk, Orihime seems to almost be fascinated with her surroundings. Renji can’t help but give her a small smile. “This your first time in a military base?” he asks.Orihime nods. “Yeah,” she says. “It looks so cool!”Well, that’s a first. But Renji can see where she’s coming from. The technology used on the base, from all the doors that slide upwards to the green screen computer monitors and the rather chunky switches and dials, can be pretty cool to civilians.After a short walk, they arrive at the meeting room. Orihime smiles upon seeing Mila Rose, Rukia, Muguruma, and Bazz-B, even greeting them cheerily. The four of them respond with small smiles and nods before General Kuchiki enters the room.“Ah, he’s here.” Renji turns to Orihime. “Orihime, I’d like to introduce you to General Kuchiki.” Turning to the General, he continues. “General, this is Inoue Orihime, the survivor I was telling you about yesterday.”General Kuchiki nods before looking at Orihime. “A pleasure to meet you,” he says, offering his hand.“Nice to meet you, sir,” Orihime says politely as she shakes his hand.Renji also introduces Orihime to the other officers and Urahara before they decide to get started.“Now then, let’s begin,” General Kuchiki says. He then turns to Orihime. “Inoue-san, are you aware of the accident that happened just a couple days ago?”Orihime nods. “Yeah, though I don’t know what exactly happened,” she says.General Kuchiki regards her with a serious look. “What I’m about to tell you is strictly classified information. You are not to share this with anyone else, understood?” he tells her.“Yes, General.”“In the warehouse, we discovered off-planet flowers being stored there, and their fumes had mixed in with leaking gas, which triggered the explosion,” the General says. “But during an investigation, we found some information regarding a species known as the Xenomorph XX121, which you had encountered on Hokutan.”The screen powers up and a representation of the alien comes up. Orihime’s eyes widen in shock as she stares at the screen, and she looks almost scared in that moment.“We have reason to believe these flowers are connected with these creatures,” Kyoraku says, his voice somewhat gentler. “But we don’t know where they originate, which is why we’ve called you here. Corporal Abarai and his squadmates do not know about their origins, but Abarai suggested you may know something about them. Inoue-san, can you tell us what happened on Hokutan?”Orihime looks down, and Renji notices that she appears a bit reluctant. So he rests his hand on her shoulder and squeezes it reassuringly. “Take all the time you need,” he tells her, his voice soothing. “If you need to stop, that’s fine.”Those words seem to comfort her a little bit, and Orihime looks up at Renji, smiling gratefully at him. “Thank you, Abarai-kun,” she says.Renji smiles at her before stepping away.Then Orihime takes a deep breath before starting her story.“I was in Hokutan for my off-planet internship at the medical facility there,” Orihime begins. “My duties were mainly with treating injuries and assisting the staff with patients. The scientists would go out to survey various areas for any life forms or minerals to study and analyze, and bring them back to the labs for analysis. But one day, I was called down to the medbay for an urgent situation. The team of scientists that went out was waiting there, but one of them…” She shudders. “Masayoshi… he was lying on the cot with… with some sort of strange parasite on his face.”At that, Renji tenses up slightly. Everyone is listening carefully to Orihime.“I asked the scientists just what happened while the doctor and head nurse got to work on the parasite,” Orihime continues. “According to Dr. Ichinose, the leader, when they had gone out for surveying, they… they came across a derelict ship.”Renji raises an eyebrow. A derelict? He doesn’t remember seeing anything like that on LV-352.He glances at his squadmates, and they all look equally surprised at this piece of information.“A derelict ship?” General Kuchiki repeats, also looking rather curious. “What kind of ship was it?”“Well… they said it wasn’t human at all,” Orihime says, to their surprise. “Ichinose told me that they’d found a fossilized body in the cockpit, and almost thousands of strange eggs in the cargo hold.”Renji’s stomach sinks slightly as she continues.“According to Yoshino, Masayoshi had approached an egg and it opened up. And right then, that parasite had… had jumped out and latched onto his face. None of the other eggs had opened up when they were trying to get him out. And then, the rest… the rest is history.” With that, Orihime finishes.Tousen frowns. “You said that ship wasn’t… human?” he asks her.“I’m only repeating what I know from them,” Orihime tells him. “I was working in the medical facility when it happened, so I don't have more information. I'm sorry, sir.”"That's fine." General Kuchiki glances at Renji and his squadmates. “Did any of you see a derelict ship on LV-352?” he asks.“No, sir,” Renji says. “We were only investigating the Hokutan center.”“We didn’t see anything like that, sir,” Mila Rose adds.“Not at all, sir,” Bazz-B says.“It must’ve been far off if we didn’t notice it,” Muguruma says.“Great…” General Kuchiki takes a deep breath and rubs his face. “This shit just got more complicated now.” Indeed it has. Renji thinks.The General turns to Orihime. “Thank you for sharing your story with us, Inoue-san,” he says. “Remember, do not tell anyone else about our investigation. It’s strictly classified, understood?”“Yes, sir.”“Good. Private First Class Hinamori will escort you to the gates, so you are free to leave now.”Renji gives Orihime a small smile, which she returns, before she leaves the meeting room.Once Orihime has left, Rukia starts speaking. “Regarding the polar flowers, I’ve managed to finish my analysis on them,” she says, her voice grave. “As it turns out, my theory is correct. Those flowers… they’re completely artificial.”Again, Renji finds himself tensing up at that. Even the others also seem to become more unsettled.“What do you mean by that?” Shihouin asks her.“The polar flowers seem to have been… engineered, somehow,” Rukia says. “But what they were engineered for, I don’t know.”“And who the hell created them?” Muguruma adds, looking very unsettled.Again, Renji doesn’t feel very good about this. Why the hell were those flowers created? And like what Muguruma wondered, who the hell created them if they had such horrific effects?“Well, this folders might have some answers,” Ushoda says, getting their attention. “We’ve managed to decrypt another subfile, and this one seems to have some information about those polar flowers.”“Open it up, then,” General Kuchiki tells him.Without hesitation, Urahara taps a few keys and the file opens up on the large screens. A representation of the polar flower appears before information starts getting typed out automatically, and Ushoda reads the information out loud for Tousen to hear.Just like what Rukia said, the flowers are artificial, completely unnatural. In fact, they’re somewhat akin to an invasive species. In addition, they’re… bio-weapons?“Bio-weapons?” Renji says, stunned. “What the hell?”That’s not good. That means warfare, battles, or even worse… genocide. And the fact that those flowers seem to turn people into something similar to those aliens is just even more fucked-up than anything that Renji’s dealt with until now.“Whatever created this must’ve been pretty fuckin’ sadistic,” Mila Rose mumbles.“Well… now we’ve got more questions than answers,” Shihouin says, looking rather frustrated.General Kuchiki sighs. “Very well…” he says before turning to Rukia. “I want you to do some more analysis on these flowers and see if you can find anything that determines its origins. We’re going to be discussing our next course of action now, so you’re good to go.”“Of course,” Rukia says. “I’ll be on my way now.”Shortly after Rukia leaves, the subject changes to Szayel Aporro Granz.“It’s obvious that Szayel Aporro Granz is the one responsible for the disaster at the warehouse and the civilians getting infected,” General Kuchiki tells them. “For a scientist, he sure knows how to cover his tracks well… for the most part, at least. We’re assuming that he’s taken a fake identity and is in the Naha area right now. After all, we did see some mail addressed to him here.”On the screen, a map is pulled up, and four areas are highlighted. “We think that he might be in either of those four districts,” General Kuchiki says.“How come we can’t catch him, though?” Bazz-B asks.“No fingerprints were left behind,” Shihouin tells him. “We think he might be using androids as a way of covering his tracks.”“Which is where you come in.” General Kuchiki looks at them. “I want your help in catching this son of a bitch. I can give you any equipment you might need, any ideas, locations, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care if all you get is a tip on where Granz might be, anything you get will go a long way in catching him.”Renji nods, steeling himself. “I’m in,” he says. “The sooner we catch him, the more lives we can save.”“You can count me in, sir,” Mila Rose agrees.“We’ll do it,” Muguruma adds.“Abarai’s got a point. I’m up for it,” Bazz-B chimes in.“Good,” the General says. “I’ll be sending you out now, then. But first, follow me. I have some things to give you.”Before they leave the base, they’re all given badges and radio headsets so they can split up and not have to worry about losing each other. They take a bus into the Naha area, having planned to get down at their designated district to do their own investigation. The others get off the bus at their designated stops, and it doesn’t take long for Renji to arrive at his destination, so he quickly disembarks with a steely determination.He doesn’t know if they’re going to find Szayel Aporro Granz right now, and to be fair, it is highly unlikely that they’ll find him immediately. But god… if the bastard is, in fact, responsible for stealing those polar flowers and getting three civilians killed already… well, Renji will probably get into trouble for beating the shit out of the guy before handing him over to General Kuchiki.But that doesn’t matter. This bastard’s trying to make his own aliens on Earth, for all Renji knows. He doesn’t even want to think about what could happen if he succeeds.Taking a deep breath, Renji looks around the area. Right now, he’s in downtown Naha, but he doesn’t really know where to start. There’s no lead to follow, but Renji decides to just go down a shopping strip to see if he can pick up on anything odd.It’s during his walk down the street that he notices something rather… odd. At nearly every place on this street are Weyland-Yutani mercenaries, all of them in their rather imposing uniforms. Renji can’t help but stiffen up slightly as he glances askance at them.It’s no secret that he’s not very fond of PMCs. But what Renji hates the most about those guys is that many of them are former Marines who have been dishonourably discharged due to excessive violence. Not to mention, those guys are as corrupt as goddamn Weyland-Yutani, and he’s heard enough horror stories about how they harass civilians and even intimidate WeYu’s own scientists to ensure that they’re doing their jobs, no matter how unethical they might be.A few of the mercs give Renji a sneer, but Renji just ignores them before he turns into an alleyway only to nearly run into someone. He’s about to apologize when he notices that it’s none other than Aizen.“Aizen?” Renji says, looking surprised.“Ah, it’s good to see you again, Abarai-kun,” Aizen greets, smiling politely. “How is your training going?”“It’s been going fine, sir.”“There’s no need to address me as ‘sir’, Abarai. I’m not a Colonel anymore, remember?”“Right.” Renji nods.Right then, he notices a couple of mercenaries passing by the alley on the other side, and he frowns a little bit. “There’s an awful lot of mercs here,” he observes. “A bit strange, don’t you think?”“Indeed it is,” Aizen agrees. “Don’t you think it’s a bit strange how their presence seems to coincide with all the strange happenings here?”Renji looks at him questioningly. “What do you mean?”“It’s just some food for thought,” Aizen tells him, a strangely enigmatic smile on his face. “I do hope that these incidents get sorted out soon.”“Me too,” Renji says, steadily growing wary.A moment of silence passes before Renji speaks again. “Well, I should get going,” he says. “I have to meet my squadmates.”“Very well, then.” Aizen gives him another polite smile that Renji thinks is supposed to disarm him, but instead makes him a bit more wary. “Take care, Abarai.”“You too.”Once Aizen leaves, Renji does a bit more searching. He goes into certain shops with a photo of Szayel Aporro Granz, asking the clerks if they’ve seen him. While most of them don’t have anything to offer, Renji does get a tip from a waitress in a ramen shop that someone who looked like Granz had bought something from the nearby liquor store a few days ago.That lightens him up a little bit. Thanking her, Renji heads down to the liquor store and approaches the clerk at the counter, his military ID in hand.“Excuse me,” he says, getting the man’s attention.The man looks up, and upon seeing the ID presented, he frowns slightly. “Can I help you?”“We’re looking for this man,” Renji says, holding the photo to him. “His name is Szayel Aporro Granz, but we think he might be using a false name. I received information that you sold something to a man fitting his description a few days ago. Is this true?”The man looks carefully at the photo. “Yes, actually,” he says. “Would you like a copy of the receipt?”“Yes please,” Renji says.He waits for the man to print out the small slip of paper, and reads over what Granz had purchased, frowning slightly. It seems that all Granz had bought from here were several bottles of American-brand rye whiskey.It should be nothing, but something in his gut tells him that this is important. Renji carefully folds the receipt and slips it into his pocket, grateful that he’s managed to get something, even if it’s small. “Alright. Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble or anything. Thanks for the information,” Renji tells the clerk before leaving the store.He then calls Bazz-B, Mila Rose, and Muguruma, telling them to meet him at the downtown bus terminal. As he heads down to the terminal, Renji hopes that they have had better luck than him in finding a tip or something like that.While waiting, Renji finds himself fiddling with his dog tags. It doesn’t take too long for the others to arrive at the bus terminal, all of them coming one-by-one on different buses, and upon seeing Renji, they quickly head down over to him.“How’d your searches go?” Renji asks them.“We found jack shit,” Mila Rose says, looking pretty frustrated. “Did you find anything, Abarai?”Renji nods. “Yeah. Apparently, Granz bought several bottles of American whiskey from a liquor store. I know, it’s weak, but something tells me that this is important.”“I also found something,” Bazz-B offers, getting their attention.“Go ahead.”“Well, I found an open electronics shop, the only open shop among the other ones, and I thought that might be useful,” Bazz-B explains. “When I asked the clerk if they’ve seen him, he told me that this Granz guy had bought a radio signal jammer a few days back.”Renji raises an eyebrow. “Go on,” he encourages, feeling a slight bit of hope in him.“I think he-” Bazz-B is interrupted by a ringing phone, making Renji glance down at his pocket.Giving Bazz-B an apologetic smile, Renji pulls his phone out and apologizes quickly to him before answering. “Hello?”“Abarai, it’s Urahara. I’m here with General Kuchiki,” Urahara says, his voice serious. “Where are you now?”Renji raises an eyebrow. “We’re at the Naha downtown bus terminal,” he says.“We need you to come back here immediately, Corporal. It’s important,” General Kuchiki says, and Renji frowns.“What’s going on, sir?” he asks, feeling that same uneasiness taking hold again.“We’ve decrypted another file, and you might want to see it,” Urahara tells him gravely. “This file… it’s about Iwashiro Space Station.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It’s as if time stops in that moment. Renji blinks, wondering if he heard him correctly as his heart pounds against his chest. He doesn’t know how to react, how to feel.“Abarai? Are you still there?” General Kuchiki’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts.Renji nods, swallowing thickly. “Y-Yes. I’m still here, sir,” he says, feeling a lump in his throat. “I’ll be back soon.”With that, he ends the call, still completely shaken.Bazz-B looks at him in concern. “Dude, you alright?” he asks.“You look like you just saw a ghost,” Mila Rose points out.“They’ve decrypted a file on Iwashiro just now,” Renji tells them, his voice soft.“Whoa, what?” Bazz-B looks stunned. “There’s seriously a file on that?”“So… what are you gonna do?” Muguruma asks him.“I’m heading back to base,” Renji decides, composing himself slightly. “I need to see this file.”Mila Rose nods. “Sure thing. You want us to come back with you?” she offers.Renji pauses, but shakes his head. “N-No thanks. I need to see this on my own,” he says.“Alright, man. We’ll continue searching, okay?” Bazz-B says.“Yeah, sure.”Renji’s about to head towards the bus to head back to the base when he remembers his encounter with Aizen. For some reason, he can’t stop feeling uneasy about it, especially his first meeting with him at Shuri Castle not too long ago.
Some things in this world are better left unanswered, for the sake of your own sanity.
What the hell is that supposed to mean? He’s really not liking this feeling of dread, but Renji has to see what is on that file. It probably contains everything that he needs in order to get the closure he’s desperate for.He glances back at his squadmates. “Before I go, one more thing,” he says. “Aizen Sousuke, the former Colonel, is in Naha. I talked with him a little while ago, but I want you guys to keep an eye out if you see him.”“Is something going on with him?” Muguruma asks.“I dunno, but it’s a pretty strong instinct,” Renji simply tells him. “Just please keep an eye out in case you see him doing anything suspicious.”“You got it,” Mila Rose says.“Good luck, man,” Bazz-B wishes him.Renji smiles briefly before he heads to the bus, showing his pass to the driver when he climbs on board. He then heads to a seat and sits down, trying to take deep breaths to calm himself down.So many emotions are swirling inside of him. As the bus heads down its route to Renji’s stop, Renji just stares out the window, trying to process everything. In his building anxiety, he tries to rationalize why everything might be worth it in the end, but the voice in the back of his mind does nothing to help reassure him.Four years. For four years, Renji has been dealing with the pain and trauma that Iwashiro had brought upon him. Iwashiro had permanently changed him; it killed off whatever idealism may have been in him, scarred him psychologically and emotionally, and nearly destroyed his confidence, his spirit, his mind. It nearly broke him.For four years, Renji hasn’t even questioned why he was sent there until Ise had planted that seed in his mind on LV-352. Why? Why was he sent to that hellhole in the first place? Who sent him there? Who is responsible for his trauma and suffering? Renji has never realized how desperate he is for answers until now, but at the same time, he’s so scared.Again, Aizen’s words ring in his mind.
Some things in this world are better left unanswered, for the sake of your own sanity.
Such a cryptic statement, and yet… Renji can’t help but wonder if Aizen is right.But even then, Renji doesn’t know if he can let this go unanswered. He needs closure, he needs to know why he was sent there, just who decided to condemn him and his unit to death on that station. General Kuchiki has promised to help him achieve closure, and now that there’s something that’ll help, Renji knows he can’t pass up this opportunity.Renji’s stomach shifts uneasily and he notices that he’s gripping the back of the seat in front of him so hard, his knuckles are turning white. He releases his grip, but then he can’t figure out what to do with his hands, so they simply clasp and unclasp each other as if in constant need of touch and reassurance.He’s so anxious to see what’s on that file, he doesn’t think he can wait any longer. But at the same time, he’s feeling that same constant dread within him. Renji can’t stop whatever will be revealed on that file any more than he can call upon the clouds to clear the sky. New information is coming; it has to. But is he really prepared to handle it?Before he even realizes, the bus has arrived at his stop. Standing up, Renji gets off the bus and heads to the base.When he reaches the gates, he shows his military ID to the gate guard, who lets him through. Renji’s heart is pounding so hard, he’s afraid it might just burst free from his chest, much like…No. Don’t think about that.A sigh escapes Renji’s lips. Why is he working himself up like this? It’s not going to help him at all, especially if the General sees him like this.He’s never believed in God, but Renji can’t help but pray that when he finds out what’s on the file, that he doesn’t have a breakdown in front of General Kuchiki. With that, he takes a deep breath and walks a bit faster towards the building.Urahara, Ukitake, Kyoraku, and General Kuchiki are waiting in a smaller meeting room when Renji finds them. When he enters the room, he’s surprised to see both Unohana and Rukia also in the room, seated at the table.“Rukia? Dr. Unohana? What are you doing here?” Renji asks them.“Nii-sama called me here,” Rukia explains, a reassuring smile on her face.“Likewise, the General also called me here,” Unohana says.“But what for?”“I believed that you might need some support when we go through this file,” General Kuchiki explains. “After all, this is quite significant for you. So I called Rukia here, since she is your closest friend. I also called for Unohana, since she is your therapist. But I’ll admit, I thought you’d bring your squadmates back as well.”Renji shakes his head. “No, I told them to keep on searching,” he says. “But thank you, sir.”He’ll be honest, he really didn’t expect to see Rukia here, but now that he thinks about it, it’s definitely a good idea. Renji knows he’s going to need some support when they open up that file.“Now, before we begin, did you find anything?” the General asks him.“Yes, sir,” Renji says. “I was informed that Szayel Aporro Granz had bought several bottles of American-brand rye whiskey from a liquor store. I’m sorry I couldn’t find anything more.” He pulls out the receipt he’d gotten. “Here’s the receipt.”General Kuchiki accepts it and scans it briefly. “This will help, for sure,” he says. “Thank you, Abarai.”“You’re welcome, sir. I’m pretty sure my squadmates might find some more evidence and tips, though,” Renji says.Renji tries to hide his anxiety and nervousness, but he figures he should know better than to hide those things from General Kuchiki. Sure enough, he almost immediately can tell.“You’re nervous, aren’t you?” Ukitake asks him, a gentle smile on his face.“Yes, sir.” Renji swallows and slowly sinks into a chair. “Honestly, I don’t know what’s on that file, and while I really want to know, I’m just really… I don’t know what to feel right now. Relieved? Scared? Hurt? I just… I don’t know.”A gentle hand on Renji’s shoulder makes him look up, and he sees General Kuchiki looking at him with an odd emotion in his eyes. And suddenly, Renji feels himself getting a bit stronger now.It’s all in the look that General Kuchiki gives him. Those steel-gray eyes almost pierce Renji’s soul, almost as if he wants to see what’s going on in there. He isn’t just dismissing Renji’s words, but he’s acknowledging them. His understanding, his concern is almost stronger than the pain that corrodes Renji’s heart. The look he’s giving him, it says, “I know you’re struggling, and when you’re ready, we can work it out together”. And the hand on his shoulder, it helps Renji remember that he’s not alone. And the General isn’t here to judge. He’s here to help.Feeling a bit stronger, a bit more confident, Renji takes a deep breath and stands up. “I’m ready, General,” he says. “Let’s see what’s on that file.”The tiniest of smiles twitches across General Kuchiki’s face before he quickly resumes his regular impassiveness. “Very well.” He turns to Urahara. “Punch up the folder.”“Yes, sir.” Urahara taps on a few keys at the terminal and the file comes up on the large screen.A representation of Iwashiro Space Station appears on the screen, and Renji feels knots forming in his stomach as he looks at it. There it is… the place that changed his life forever.Next to the image, the information gets typed out automatically. First is the classification, which describes the station as being a ‘permanent freeport facility’, and then it’s the location, which is near the gas giant KG-447 in the Zeta Reticuli region. Then it’s the status, which is listed as ‘destroyed’.A history of the station also gets typed out automatically, and they all read the information presented.“So it was built to harvest the minerals from the gas giant?” Rukia observes.“Seems a little odd to build an orbital station in deep space,” Kyoraku muses.“I suppose that’s why it fell into decline,” General Kuchiki says.Renji frowns at a piece of information. “Apparently, another company, Central 46, owned the place,” he says.Ukitake also frowns. “Weyland-Yutani purchased the station on February 17th, 2175, when it was partially decommissioned?” he says, sounding confused.“The hell is that supposed to mean?” General Kuchiki asks, perplexed. “Why would the Company buy a partially-decommissioned station from a second-tier corporation?”Renji’s eyes widen in shock. “February 17th?” he repeats. “That’s three days before we were shipped out!”General Kuchiki looks at him sharply. “Abarai, did you receive any information about this order before you left Gateway or Earth?” he asks.“No… No, we didn’t,” Renji says, still stunned. “We were only briefed about it after waking up from cryo…”Weyland-Yutani had bought that station. No wonder the representatives had been pretty pissed during the hearing on Gateway after Renji had come back, shell-shocked and traumatized. Renji had basically destroyed Company property. Not that he’d known back then, or had given a fuck.But why did Weyland-Yutani buy a station that was basically a scrapheap? Does the file contain any information about that?“There’s some purchase information here, General,” Urahara says.“Pull it up,” General Kuchiki orders.Renji continues looking at the screen as Urahara brings up a subfolder titled ‘Purchase Information’, and he reads the information being typed out automatically.Along with the purchase date, there are some additional notes. Renji frowns as he reads it.“‘Project XX121 cargo delivered on February 14th, 2175’,” Renji reads out loud, his heart sinking. “‘Delivered from LV-352. Ready for retrieval. Initiate Special Order 938’.”Special Order 938. Ice forms in Renji’s stomach as the order is typed out on the screen, and he continues to read with growing horror.“Priority one: Ensure retrieval of specimens. Disallow all communications. All other priorities rescinded. Station inhabitants expendable…’” He trails off, horrified.“‘Expendable’?” General Kuchiki repeats, stunned. “How many civilians were on board that station?”“According to the basic information, there was a population of about one hundred people on Iwashiro,” Urahara says, much to Renji’s horror.Those things… they killed one hundred people on Iwashiro. No wonder they’d hardly seen anyone else who was alive there. No wonder they’d had to reactivate and repair communications to get their ship closer. Renji swallows, his dread becoming so much more visceral than before.Kyoraku’s face darkens. “So the Company sent a directive to the station’s A.I. to shut down communications to ensure that their specimens don’t get destroyed?” he asks.“It’s fucked up is what it is,” Renji snaps, his temper flaring. “They fucking marked over a hundred people as expendable and shut down communications so no one can call for help, so long as they can get their hands on their precious specimens.” He practically spits out those last words. “The Company never gave a fuck about anyone but their own, and this just fucking proves it.”Even Rukia and Unohana seem to be stunned speechless at the information on the screens.General Kuchiki seems to be trying to keep his temper, especially after that piece of information. “What does the next subfolder say, Urahara?” he asks, his voice fairly strained.“It’s the mission that was assigned to Corporal Abarai’s unit,” Urahara says, punching up that folder.This is it. This is what Renji has been waiting to read, and as the information gets typed up, Renji reads it with growing apprehension.First is the information about the mission that had been given to Sergeant Amagai. It’s simple enough. Investigate Iwashiro Space Station, collect anything you find, return to Gateway. At least, that’s what they’d been told.Then, the actual mission document comes up. As Renji reads through it, dread creeps over him like an icy chill, numbing his brain. In this frozen state, his mind offers only one thought: it’s here. There’s no avoiding it. And as Renji reads, it only grows worse as new revelations show up.In reality, the investigation objective was simply a cover for the actual mission: retrieval. Actual objectives were the same as that goddamn Special Order: ensure the return of specimen.“‘Only one Marine unit needed’,” Ukitake reads aloud. “‘Experience unnecessary. Unit expendable’.” Unit expendable. Those two words almost mock Renji over and over again, his mind reeling. He can barely hear anything else, only his own heartbeat, as he repeats those words in his head.Expendable. Replaceable. Unimportant. They don’t matter.Amagai, Shishigawara, Kasaki, Kotsubaki, Kotetsu, Renji himself, everyone… they’d all been expendable. Their lives didn’t matter to the fucking Company.And signing off on the order…“‘Szayel Aporro Granz and Colonel Aizen Sousuke’,” Ukitake finishes reading. Aizen Sousuke. It strikes Renji hard, and words leave him instantly. All he can do in this moment is just stare open-mouthed at the screen.This… This has to be a cruel joke, right? There’s no way that Aizen Sousuke would have ever done something like sending an inexperienced unit to their deaths, right? There’s no way he’d ever work with someone as slimy as Szayel Aporro Granz, right? Right…?“Abarai? Corporal Abarai!” General Kuchiki’s voice snaps him out of his stupor.Renji blinks as he slowly comes back to reality.“General… please tell me this isn’t real,” Renji says, his voice unrecognizable to himself. “Aizen wouldn’t do something like that, right? Surely he was blackmailed into working with Granz?”General Kuchiki regards him grimly. “I’m afraid that’s not the case, Corporal,” he says regretfully. “Aizen Sousuke seems to have done this freely of his own will… and right before his discharge four years ago as well.”He still can’t believe it. Renji may not have known Aizen too well, but he’s always believed him to be kind, reasonable, and honourable, most of all. To think that Aizen has been working with the Company all this time… but why?Why the fuck does Aizen even want those fucking aliens on Earth? How can he even think that it’s a great idea?Amidst Renji’s hurt and confusion, he vaguely hears General Kuchiki discussing their next course of action with Ukitake and Kyoraku.“If Granz is here in Naha, then Aizen is probably here as well,” Ukitake suggests. “There’s no way that Granz was able to get this far without some help, so it makes sense that Aizen would be here.”“You’re right,” Kyoraku agrees, his voice serious. “We need to catch the both of them before they endanger any lives, but we can’t create a panic either.”“Indeed,” General Kuchiki says before glancing at Renji. “Abarai, what’s on your mind? You haven’t spoken yet.”Renji blinks, and then shakes his head. “I… I need some air,” he says, still sounding distressed. “I’m sorry. Please excuse me.”“Go ahead,” General Kuchiki tells him, not sounding upset.Immediately, Renji turns and nearly bolts out of the meeting room, his mind still reeling. He doesn’t even pay attention to where he’s walking to, he just knows that he needs to get out of there right now.Behind him, he hears Rukia call out for him, but then General Kuchiki stops her.“Let him be, Rukia,” he says. “He needs to be alone right now.”By the time Renji stops walking, he notices that he’s already left the base. He’s just walking down the street by the seawall, and he eventually comes to a stop at an empty lookout point. His heart feels heavy, his hands are trembling, and his eyes are stinging with tears. He almost feels like he’s choking right now.Renji can’t believe this at all. To have been marked as expendable for the sake of retrieving those creatures… to think his life means so little to those bastards. But then again, he probably shouldn’t be feeling so surprised.He’s always known that Weyland-Yutani is shady as hell. But the fact that one of the brass had no issue in marking him and his previous unit as expendable… Renji has never felt so let down.Just why did Aizen do this? What motivated him to send an inexperienced, dysfunctional unit to their deaths on a shithole of a space station? Because of him, Renji had been fucked over so hard, both mentally and emotionally, at that station, something he’s still dealing with today.Renji grips the seawall hard, trying not to cry or have a breakdown.
What am I supposed to do now?
So lost in his thoughts, he barely registers a man approaching him. The man has thin rectangular glasses, a lean frame, and a hat over his light-coloured hair. With a concerned look on his face, the man stands next to Renji.“Are you okay?” he asks.Renji shakes his head without thinking.“Is your heart broken?”“No…” Renji whispers, feeling ashamed when a tear slides down his cheek.“Care to tell me what’s wrong?” the man asks.“I… I’ve just learned something awful,” Renji confesses. “It’s about… about something that happened to me, and now, I just… I don’t know what to do anymore.”The man thinks for a moment. “I can help you with that,” he says.“How?”“Well… have you thought about ending it all? That could solve all your problems very quickly.” The man looks over the seawall. “It’s a long way down to the bottom. One jump, and it’ll all be over.”Renji blinks as the man’s words register in his head. His grip loosens on the wall and only one thought runs through his head. Don’t do this. You’ve come this far after Iwashiro, why would you want to end it? There are people who love you, who care about you. Killing yourself won’t give you the closure you need. And what about your squad? Shouldn’t that be a good reason to live? Suddenly feeling more confident, Renji straightens up and moves away from the wall. “No.” His voice is firm. “I’m not killing myself.” He turns to face the stranger.His eyes widen in shock. For the first time, Renji actually takes a look at the stranger’s appearance. Thin glasses, lean frame, amber eyes, and pink hair under a hat…
Szayel Aporro Granz.
Shock quickly becomes hatred, and rage clouds Renji’s mind. The last thing he registers doing is lunging right towards the bastard, and then his vision turns red.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It’s been a long time since Renji was last in Inuzuri, but some habits of his are still as strong as ever. Like they say, you can take the boy out of Inuzuri, but you can’t take the Inuzuri out of the boy. And while Renji still has quite a few of those instincts in him, he’s managed to control them well enough to be a good corporal for others to look up to… at least he’d thought.
But some instincts just don’t die, no matter how much control one has over them.Renji glares furiously as he lunges at Granz. His fury holds all the power of a wildfire, and one can practically see the flames roaring in his eyes, ready to ignite anything that he comes into contact with.“You…!” Renji’s voice is filled with an ugly, black rage.He decks Granz right across the face, and he can actually feel the delicate bones in his nose break. It’s a satisfying sensation, dulled only a little bit by the still-haughty expression on the bastard’s face, even as his nose is bleeding. But Renji is nowhere near done. He throws another punch at Granz’s face before grabbing his collar and hauling him closer.Granz eyes him disdainfully. “Are you done with your hysterics yet?” he asks.“You better shut the fuck up if you know what’s good for you, motherfucker!” Renji growls, baring his teeth like a stray dog. “You sent me to Iwashiro to die so you could get your hands on those fucking aliens! Because of you, my entire unit is dead!”“And what does it matter? You apparently weren’t very close to them, so why should it matter that they’re dead?” Granz asks him.
Oh, he’s dead.
Renji slaps Granz across the face and harshly tosses him to the ground, seething in rage. “God… you Weyland-Yutani bastards are all the same. Always fucking someone over for a goddamn percentage, just like Kurotsuchi,” he snarls. “Just how the hell did you manipulate Aizen into working for you?”Granz laughs sardonically. “You really think I manipulated him?” he mocks. “You’re wrong, Corporal. Aizen willingly joined me in my plans.”The rage slowly fades away into confusion and betrayal. Renji just stares at him, still disbelieving. “How?” he asks, his voice hard. “How the hell do you know about those creatures? And why the hell would you want them?! You condemned over a hundred civilians to die on that station, and sent an ill-prepared, inexperienced unit as bait for those fucking things! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t maul you with my bare hands!”“Just listen to you,” Granz says cruelly as he stands up while wiping blood away from his nose. “So savage and eager to just tear someone apart without even considering the consequences. And to think that you’re a Corporal in the Marines.” He adjusts his crooked glasses. “I can’t believe the General even awarded you an Order of the Noble Sakura when you’re so quick to anger and hurt a civilian-”“Don’t. You. Fucking. Dare.” Renji’s voice is dangerous now as he points his combat knife at Granz. “You’re not a civilian anymore. You’re a criminal and I have every right to turn you in to General Kuchiki now. So we can either do this civilly and you come with me, or I’m gonna rip your guts out with my bare hands.”“You really think you can do that? Or are you all bark and no bite?” Granz mocks.Renji is about to grab Granz up from the ground when a pair of cold hands suddenly grab his shoulders.“You’re becoming hysterical,” a distinctly robotic voice says, and Renji’s eyes widen in shock as he’s forcefully turned around.A Working Joe. Of all the models to attack him, it’s an oddly-strong Working Joe with glowing red eyes and dressed in white coveralls. Immediately, Renji’s training kicks in and he struggles to shove the Working Joe off him.“Get off me!” he snarls.“Please, calm down,” it continues.The android’s grip is almost bruising, and Renji finds himself grappling with it for a short while before he manages to slowly overpower it. Tightening his grip on his combat knife, Renji then shanks the Working Joe in the gut with his blade.White synthetic blood spills from the gaping wound and the Joe’s grip slackens. Renji pulls himself away and stabs its throat and chest repeatedly, trying not to be disturbed by its distorted choking noises as it collapses and shuts down.For a moment, Renji just stands there, trying to catch his breath as he comes down from the adrenaline and gathers his thoughts. Remembering that he was about to arrest Granz before the android had attacked, he turns to where Granz had been on the ground only to find no one there.
“Shit…” Renji curses, suddenly feeling ashamed.
He’d let his rage get the better of him, and now Granz is gone. What’s the General going to say about this? And what about Bazz-B and the others? How the hell is he supposed to explain to them that he got so angry that the urge to kill Granz had actually overpowered his duties as a Corporal?“Abarai!” A jeep pulls up at the side of the seawall, having come from the direction of the base.Renji turns to face the jeep only to see Shihouin in the passenger’s seat, and Urahara at the wheel. Instinctively, he salutes at Shihouin, who returns the salute, albeit with a concerned expression on her face.“The General ordered us to go and find you,” Shihouin explains. “He predicted that you had probably left the base and sent us to…” She trails off when she notices the Working Joe lying on the ground. “What the hell is that?”“It’s a long story, but to be brief, I encountered Granz,” Renji tells her. “I’ll tell you more when we get back. But we’re going to have to get this Working Joe back to base with us.”Shihouin nods. “Alright,” she says, opening the passenger door. “I’ll help you lift it.”It takes some effort to carefully maneuver the deactivated Working Joe without spilling anymore synthetic blood, but they manage to put it in the back of the jeep. Then, Renji gets into the backseat before they head back to base.During the drive, Renji mulls over his thoughts and recalls the almost murderous rage he’d been driven into upon seeing Granz. To be honest, he’s a little worried at how quickly he was able to become so angry to the point of murder, but considering what he’s just learned about Iwashiro, is it really any wonder why he got angry to the point of nearly committing murder so quickly?Renji takes a deep breath, trying to stave off whatever anger might remain. He needs to have better control over his temper before they encounter Granz again, or else he’ll escape and more people will get hurt.It doesn’t take long for them to get back to base, where they find General Kuchiki, Bazz-B, Mila Rose, and Muguruma waiting at the front. He doesn’t see Rukia, but he assumes that she’s left the base already. When the car comes to a stop, Renji gets out and approaches them.“Hey, man, where’d you go?” Bazz-B asks him.“Not too far,” Renji says, his voice serious. “But I have some news. I… I encountered Granz.”General Kuchiki looks at him in shock. “Did you arrest him?” he asks.Renji sighs, again feeling ashamed. “I… I let my rage get the better of me. I apologize, sir,” he tells him. “I attacked him and made a lot of threats, and I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I just got so angry that I couldn’t think straight.”“How angry did you get?” Bazz-B asks.“Oh, I punched him so hard I might’ve broken his nose,” Renji admits, his ears burning slightly. “I’m only glad there were no civilians there.”Muguruma smirks. “And that’s why one of the squad’s motto is ‘Don’t fuck with Abarai’,” he says.General Kuchiki raises an eyebrow. “Did you try to arrest him?” he asks.“I did, but before I could arrest him, he sicced a Working Joe onto me,” Renji adds,“A Working Joe?”“It was modified and actually a lot tougher to deal with. But I managed to take it down, so we brought it back,” Renji adds. “It was also wearing a different uniform from what the ones here wear.”“So we were right. He is using androids,” General Kuchiki says, frowning.He then calls for some security guards and orders them to take the Working Joe from the trunk to the lab.Again, it takes a lot of careful maneuvering to avoid spilling any synthetic blood on the ground, but the guards manage to safely carry it to the lab. As this happens, Renji approaches his squadmates.“Did General Kuchiki catch you guys up?” he asks.Mila Rose nods. “Yeah,” she says, offering a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry ‘bout what happened.”“Must’ve been rough to learn,” Muguruma adds, also trying to show his condolences.Renji nods somberly before becoming serious again. “How’d your search go?” he asks.“It went fine for the most part,” Mila Rose says. “We found some more tips, like the fact that Granz bought a whole bunch of things you can use to make homemade pipe bombs.”
"We also found out that he might be responsible for those missing people as well," Bazz-B adds.
“You can share what you found over dinner,” General Kuchiki tells them. “It’s already evening, and it’ll be getting late soon.”
Sure enough, the sky is already almost getting dark, and the sun is pretty much below the horizon. Renji can’t believe that the day passed by so quickly, but a lot has happened, so of course it would pass by faster than normal.
At dinner, there aren’t many conversations. Renji can’t even eat his food; he’s just not hungry, not after everything that’s happened. He’s still thinking about his confrontation with Granz, particularly the part where Granz had tried to goad him into suicide.Renji still can’t really believe that happened. Just as he thought that the guy couldn’t get any worse, he had tried to get Renji to throw himself over the seawall. If anything, though, it only proves that Granz is a fucking coward. If he wants Renji dead, how come he can’t do the job himself? Is he too afraid to be charged with killing a Marine?
Well, his reasons don’t matter. What matters is the fact that Granz is the reason behind Renji’s suffering for four years, and there’s no way that Renji will ever let this go. For every bit of pain he’s suffered for four years, Renji’s going to make Granz feel pain a thousand times, no,
ten thousand times
worse. And that’s not a threat. It’s a promise.
“You know, staring at your food isn’t going to make it disappear.”Renji looks up and sees Shihouin and his squadmates regarding him with concern. Trying not to worry them too much, he shakes his head slightly.“I’m not hungry,” he says.“Bullshit.” General Kuchiki regards him sternly. “Don’t try and hide it, Abarai. I’ve been a Marine far longer than you, and I know when someone is hiding something. And after what we’ve just discovered today, there’s definitely something you’re keeping to yourself. So speak up.”Renji sighs. “Yes, sir.” There’s no point in trying to hide it. He takes a deep breath and tells him and the others about what happened.“When I encountered Granz, I… I didn’t register that it was him at first,” he says. “I was at a lookout point when he came up to me. He asked me if I was okay, and so I’d just vaguely told him that I learned something horrible and I didn’t know what to do now. He told me that he can help me, so I asked him how.”He pauses momentarily, but continues.“He asked me if I considered ending it all, and then said that it’s a long way down from the seawall,” Renji finishes, looking up. “He basically tried to get me to commit suicide.”General Kuchiki blinks, completely at a loss of words. Likewise, his squadmates and the other officers are just as stunned.Renji sees the General’s eyes widen for a moment as he processes the information. Then his eyes narrow, but it doesn’t stop Renji from seeing the tranquil fury burning, not like fire, but like ice. Compared to Renji’s fiery anger, General Kuchiki’s anger is cold, and it actually makes Renji shudder.“Just when I thought he couldn’t get any more despicable…” General Kuchiki snarls under his breath.“So what did you tell him in the end?” Ukitake asks.“I told myself that suicide isn’t the answer, and then told him that I wasn’t going to kill myself,” Renji tells him. “That’s when I really registered his appearance and realized that it was Granz. And then, well… I lost it.”“Don’t blame yourself, Abarai,” General Kuchiki says, his voice terse but sincere. “This just shows that Granz is a coward, since he’s too afraid to kill a Marine himself. We need to focus on catching him and Aizen now, and try and figure out what the fuck they were thinking in sending your unit to Iwashiro.”“Bazz, you said something about a radio jammer, right?”Bazz-B nods. “Yeah, I told the General about it as well,” he tells him. “I was thinking that we could connect the registration code of the jammer to the Gotei’s global positioning system and use it to try and track down Aizen and Granz.”“Did you get a code, though?” Mila Rose asks.“Yeah, of course.”General Kuchiki nods slowly. “Good,” he says. “Well, we’re in luck, because this base does have a global positioning system we can use. It’s not as powerful as the one at the main HQ in Tokyo, but it’s still useable. It’ll take at least two days before it gets powered up completely, though. However, we’ll do our best to go as quickly as possible.”“And the decrypting?” Renji asks.“That will have to be put on hold,” General Kuchiki says. “Get some rest, Marines. You’re gonna need all your energy until this shit's over.”“Yes, sir.”After dinner, Renji finds himself in Unohana’s office again. He’s got some time before lights-out, which means he can talk about what just happened today.“How does it feel to finally get all that information about Iwashiro today?” Unohana asks.
Renji thinks for a moment before he answers. “At first, I was almost dying to know just what was going on,” he admits. “But now that I’ve gotten my answers, I just feel very… upset. And angry and hurt and betrayed.”
“That’s definitely understandable,” Unohana says. “But what exactly are you upset with?”“I’m… I’m angry with Aizen and Granz. No, scratch that. I’m furious with them,” Renji answers. “I’m hurt by being called ‘expendable’, because apparently my life and the lives of my old unit came second to those goddamn creatures. I’m upset because my entire unit died because of the Company’s greed. And lastly, I just feel very betrayed by Aizen.”“Did you know him very well?”“Not really,” Renji admits. “But he seemed to be kind and reasonable, and finding out that he’s not is just… kinda like a slap in the face.”Unohana nods slowly as Renji takes a sip of his tea. “Overall, it seems like this revelation was more… painful than you expected. Am I correct?”Renji nods. “Yeah,” he says. “I mean, I knew it would be painful, but not to this extent.”“Well, learning the truth about something as devastating as Iwashiro would definitely trigger such reactions,” Unohana points out. “But do you feel like you’ve attained closure yet?”“Honestly, not really,” Renji says. “I feel like the first step in getting closure is in catching Aizen and Granz.”“If that’s what it takes, then that is fine,” Unohana reassures. “However, don’t let that eat away at you, or else the process will only be more painful. It’s important to take small steps, like grieving and introspection, if you hope to fully achieve closure.”“Alright,” Renji says. He then glances at the time. “I should get going soon.”“Of course.” Unohana smiles serenely. “Have a good night, Abarai-kun.”“Good night.”It’s about four in the morning when Renji wakes up for the umpteenth time in a cold sweat. His heart is pounding, his breath is quick and shallow, and the screams of his old unit are still ringing in his ears. Neither Bazz-B nor Muguruma wake up, fortunately, and Renji just rubs his face, sighing and closing his eyes.So many old nightmares are unearthing themselves, mixed in with Granz’s leering face, Kurotsuchi’s unsettling stare, and Aizen’s affable yet shady smile. But instead of any sadness or frustration, all Renji feels is an urge to get up and do something productive.And that’s what Renji is going to do.He climbs out of bed, changes into his PT shorts, and takes care of his toiletries in the bathroom before tying his hair up and heading to the exercise room. When he reaches the place, he heads to the weights first.After several reps of lifting and bench-pressing that are more intense than what he’s done before, Renji then does some chin-ups until he can feel even more sweat dripping down his bare chest. But he refuses to stop until he’s ready. And when he does, he moves on to the sandbag while putting on some boxing gloves.The first punch on the sandbag is oddly satisfying, and Renji can practically feel all his fury coming out of his fist when he punches it. And all while he works out, only one thought is running through Renji’s mind.It’s a promise he’s made to himself. Renji is going to personally kill Granz for all the pain he’s inflicted upon him: Iwashiro, those civilians’ deaths, his previous squadmates’ deaths, those fucking aliens, four years of trauma, and now for trying to goad him into committing suicide.
I hope you believe in a God, Granz.
Renji thinks darkly as he delivers a rather powerful punch onto the sandbag.
Because I’m gonna show you exactly why you never fuck with an Inuzuri dog.
“A bit early for exercising now, isn’t it, Abarai?”Renji stops and turns to the entrance. Sure enough, the General is standing there, looking immaculate even in his fatigues.Suddenly feeling a little self-conscious about his own shirtless, sweaty state, Renji nods soberly. “Y-Yes, sir,” he says. “I couldn’t sleep.”“I can imagine,” General Kuchiki says, his voice soft. “How have you been dealing with these new revelations?”“Not very well,” Renji says with a bitter laugh. “I’m so angry I might actually murder Granz the next time I see him.”“While I can understand why, I’d prefer that you do not do so,” General Kuchiki advises, coming up to the sandbag. “I’d hate to see you lose your career, especially when you’ve come this far.”He’s got a point, Renji realizes. So he sighs. “I know…”He looks back up at the General. “Sir, did… did you ever see any signs that Aizen was shady?” he asks.General Kuchiki shakes his head slightly before folding his arms over his chest. “I’m afraid not,” he admits. “Like you and everyone else in the Gotei, I believed that Aizen was a fair and honourable man who could be trusted. It’s truly disheartening to learn that’s not the case.”Renji can imagine. He doesn’t know how close the General was with Aizen, but they must’ve been colleagues at some point, he believes.
Which only fuels the question of
why?
Why did Aizen decide to betray everyone and work with Granz? In fact, speaking of Granz…
“What are we going to do about the Company, sir?” Renji asks. “Those documents we’re decrypting… should we leak them to the press?”It might be a bit drastic, and even quite dangerous. But if it really, truly exposes how corrupt Weyland-Yutani is to the world, then it’ll definitely be worth it, for sure.General Kuchiki pauses. “As tempting as that sounds, I’d rather we catch Granz and Aizen first before we leak those documents,” he says. Then a small smile crosses his face. “On the bright side, we do finally have solid, concrete evidence of Weyland-Yutani’s corruption, so I’m definitely not against the idea.”Now Renji smirks slightly. “So… what do you say about bringing the Company down together?” He holds his hand out.Again, a tiny smirk crosses the General’s face. “I’m all for it,” he says, taking his hand in a firm grip.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Two days later, as General Kuchiki had promised, the global positioning system is ready to be used to try and track down Granz and Aizen. In the meantime, Rukia has gone to the hospital to work on developing an antidote for the polar flowers along with Ise in the hopes of being able to treat the recovering civilians sooner.
Renji hopes that those civilians recover quickly enough. Their testimonies will definitely be important if they’re planning on bringing the Company down, and the Gotei will gladly provide them with protection if they need it.“Think we’ll be able to find him with this thing?” Muguruma asks, interrupting Renji’s thoughts. “I mean, the General did say that it’s not as powerful as the one in Tokyo.”“It’s still perfectly good to use, Muguruma,” Renji reminds him. “Besides, we have a registration code to track him. We should be able to find him.”Bazz-B grins. “You know, I’ve always wanted to play with those big-ass dishes,” he jokes. “Can’t wait to use it.”“Remember now, you break it, you buy it,” Renji reminds him.“Pfft, as if he has two billion yen on him,” Mila Rose snorts.“Come on, I know how to be careful,” Bazz-B says, smirking at Renji. “What are you, my mom?”“Feels like it sometimes,” Renji mutters, rolling his eyes slightly.“Yeah, but you love us anyways,” Bazz-B teases.Renji doesn’t respond, but he does chuckle slightly.When they reach the control room, General Kuchiki is waiting for them outside the door. “The monitors and systems have all been activated now,” he tells them. “Before you go inside, you are not to touch anything, understood?”“Yes, sir,” they all say.General Kuchiki opens the door and they all follow him inside.The first thing that Renji notices about the control room is how big it is. There are also several large monitors, and Urahara is sitting in front of a monitor with an image of the city of Naha on the screen. Also waiting for them are the other officers.“Black, go sit with Urahara at the monitors,” General Kuchiki tells him, handing him a list of access codes and a headset.Bazz-B goes and sits next to Urahara before slipping the headset on. After adjusting it a little, he then punches in all the access codes before pulling out the slip of paper with the radio jammer’s registration number.“Alright, this is it,” Bazz-B declares after typing in the number. “Let’s go.”He taps the ‘enter’ key, and they wait as the large satellite dish angles itself towards Naha. Then, once the dish focuses on the city, the same image gets projected with a grid onto another monitor. Then it’s a 3D display of Naha on a third monitor, followed by a thermal map and a weather map. Finally, a blue dot appears on each screen, pinpointing onto an abandoned office building across from a hospital.But it’s not just any hospital. It’s specifically the one where those infected civilians are recovering, and where Rukia and Ise are working at to try and develop an antidote for the polar flowers.Renji doesn’t like this feeling of uneasiness that suddenly unearths itself. Does that mean that Granz and Aizen are in that office building? It has to be.
If either of them even lay a hand on Rukia or Ise…
Renji thinks to himself.
“And, there it is! Our radio jammer,” Bazz-B declares triumphantly.“Now what?” Mila Rose asks.“Now, we-” Bazz-B starts, but is interrupted by Urahara shushing him. They turn to him, only to see him concentrating carefully on something.Urahara frowns slightly as he slowly presses his headset against his ears. After a few moments, he takes it off. “That’s odd. Black, listen to your headset-- it sounds like a voice,” he says to Bazz-B.Bazz-B listens into the headset before shaking his head and removing it. “I don’t hear anything,” he says, and offers the headset to Renji.Renji takes the headset and slips it on. All he hears is static. “No, I don’t hear a thing either. Only static,” he says.Mila Rose, Muguruma, and General Kuchiki take their turns listening into it, and they all confirm the same thing: only static.And that’s when it clicks. General Kuchiki pauses as he puts two and two together. “No wonder Granz has decided to use synthetics,” he realizes.“Most models are able to hear things on various levels of frequency, so he could be communicating with them in a way that ordinary people can’t pick up on,” Tousen adds. “Even the Gotei’s equipment would cast it off as static or white noise.”“Even then, why would he use Seegson’s Working Joes?” Muguruma asks. “Shouldn’t those be too crude?”“Not unless he’s made some modifications to them,” Shihouin points out. “Abarai said that the Working Joe that attacked him the other day had clearly been modified to be stronger and more aggressive.”“Or he doesn’t want to waste any Weyland-Yutani androids on something like this,” Kyoraku adds.“Urahara, can you hear any actual words?” Ukitake asks him.“Let me adjust the receiver frequency,” Urahara says. “The message might come in clearer if I do that.”He pushes a couple of keys and then goes still as he listens into his headset again. After listening to the message, Urahara pauses before removing his headset. “Well, the message came in,” he says. “You might want to sit down for this.”“What is it?” Renji asks, not liking the serious look on Urahara’s face.“The message went something like this: ‘we cannot afford to hold onto these people any longer. I’ve done enough research. At nine am tomorrow, we’ll kill them all. Then, we have to get rid of those recovering civilians so they don’t spill the beans about Project XX121. There’s no point in using the bombs, so get rid of them. Use the jammer to disable the life support equipment at the General Hospital. Oh, and another thing for you PMCs: guard this building and make sure no one enters it. There are four Marines on this island, three males and one female. I want all of them dead, understood? If you see them, shoot them on sight’.”The room is silent as everyone takes in this new information.General Kuchiki folds his arms over his chest. “I should’ve known that Granz wouldn’t hesitate to kidnap people and use them as test subjects,” he says, his voice hard. “Did he say what room those civilians are staying in?”“No, he didn’t.”“Well, from what I know, the intensive care units are on the fourth floor of the Naha General Hospital. But then again, the civilians could be in any room,” Ukitake points out.“Right.” General Kuchiki straightens up slightly. “We’re going to split up in order to put a stop to Granz’s plans. Mila Rose, Muguruma, you are to assist Kyoraku and Tousen in disarming the PMCs guarding the building. Abarai, Black, you two will destroy that jammer before they can use it. Shihouin and I are going to rescue the kidnapped civilians. Is that understood?”“Yes, sir,” everyone says.“Good. I want all of you awake and ready nice and early tomorrow,” General Kuchiki continues. “We have to do this before oh-nine-hundred, and then apprehend him, Aizen, and whoever else is involved.” He then glances at Renji and his squadmates. “And I want the four of you to find a way to keep yourselves safe, alright? I don’t care if you’re a general or a brand-new recruit, you’re still Marines, and if there’s a way to keep you all from getting hurt, then I damn well will do it.”“Yes, sir,” Renji and his squadmates say.Renji spends the rest of the day doing some intense workouts in the weight room. While the others are doing their own share of exercises and training, they’re nowhere near as vigorous or non-stop as what Renji is doing. Chin-ups, push-ups, weightlifting, bench presses, he does it all with a burning determination. By the time he finishes his last exercise, Renji is covered in sweat, and his breathing is shallow and quick. Grabbing his towel, he wipes the sweat off his face and the back of his neck before heading to the locker rooms for a shower.Once he’s finished and changed into fresh fatigues, Renji heads to his bunk room. He sends a text to Rukia on his phone and picks up his bag to look for his sketchbook and pencils when his hand closes around something familiar. Frowning slightly, Renji looks into his bag and pulls the item out only to see that it’s the half-melted husk of his old shotgun.A faint smile crosses his face for a brief moment before it disappears. Renji didn’t have the heart to throw it out, so he’s keeping it as a reminder that in spite of everything, he’s won against those creatures. And even when he gets a new gun, he’s not going to throw it out. This one has too many memories for him to abandon.Apparently, this shotgun was an heirloom of the family who raised him. An Ithaca Model 37 pump-action shotgun, it’s a vintage model that’s all the way from America.Yes, Renji isn’t going to hide the fact that he likes vintage stuff from two centuries ago, whether they’re weapons, music, or movies. There’s something unique about them, and the fact that he’s grown up watching a lot of older movies on an old TV has helped.That’s when Renji remembers that his birthday is coming soon. Ever since enlisting, Renji has often celebrated his birthday with some of his squadmates by going out to some nice bar wherever they’re stationed, and just having dinner there. This time, he’s already hinted to Rukia that he wants a vintage pump-action shotgun much like the one that he used to have, though he’s not sure if he’s going to get it.Right then, the door to the bunk room opens and Renji looks up to see Bazz-B coming inside. “How’s it going?” he asks.Renji nods. “Fine, I guess,” he says.“You still have that?” Bazz-B asks, looking at the half-melted shotgun.“Yeah. I can’t throw it out, it’s too important for me,” Renji admits. “Even when I get a new one, I’m not throwing it away.”Bazz-B nods. “Right, your birthday is coming up soon,” he remembers. “You got anything you wanna do?”“Not really.” Renji shrugs. “Might do the same thing I’ve done every year, honestly. But right now, that’s not the main issue.”“Yeah, that’s fair.” Bazz-B sits down on his bunk bed. “Do… Do you think catching Granz and Aizen will help you in the long run?”Renji thinks for a moment. “I… I think it’ll really help me get some closure,” he says. “It’s not going to bring my unit back, but I think Granz and Aizen deserve some karma after putting us all through a living nightmare.”“That’s for sure.”“No one touches my Marines and gets away with it unscathed,” Renji adds, his voice serious. “This squad is important to me, and I’ll be damned if anything happens to you guys.”Bazz-B snorts. “Alright, Mother Hen,” he teases.“Hey, I’m tryin’ to be serious.”“I mean, I’m pretty sure you got your point across in Latvia, when you defended Hisagi and Madarame from those insurgents before you got shot,” Bazz-B points out. “And then you woke up after being treated and the first thing you ask about is how we’re doing.”Renji can’t help but chuckle. “Yeah, I can still hear Soifon yelling at me to worry about my own damn self first,” he says.They both chuckle at the memory before they go silent again.“You think we’ll be able to catch them tomorrow?” Bazz-B asks.“We’d better,” Renji simply says. “We cannot let them roam free in Naha anymore. Who knows how many more people will get hurt?”Bazz-B grins. “Then we’d better kick their asses nice and hard,” he says.“Damn right,” Renji agrees, returning the grin.It’s about four-thirty in the morning when Renji and his squadmates all get up and get dressed and ready for the day. They don’t bother delaying with breakfast either, and after something quick and light, they suit up in their armour and head to the front of the base to meet General Kuchiki and the other officers.Waiting outside is a dark-coloured van, and when Kyoraku opens the back doors, Renji sees that the backseats have been removed and replaced with computer monitors, and there are weapon cases on the floor.“There are pulse rifles in there,” General Kuchiki says. “Let’s hope that’s all we’ll need for weapons. We’ve also gotten gas masks, just in case the bastard has any polar flowers on him.”“Urahara will drive everyone there,” Ukitake tells them. “I’ll stay with him and keep in contact with the rest of you.”Once everyone is inside the van, Urahara starts it up and they all drive downtown. During the drive, Renji and his squadmates adjust their rifles and load them with ammo.“Kinda wish I could use my smartgun,” Muguruma mumbles to himself.“It won’t be practical in this situation,” Renji tells him. He then glances at General Kuchiki. “So, it’s just get in, destroy the jammer, and then get out?”“That’s the simplest way to put it,” General Kuchiki says. “But we don’t know how well-guarded the jammer is, or how many androids there are. All we can do now is prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”The drive to the downtown area goes by much quicker than expected, and when they arrive at the abandoned office building, there are already several PMCs standing guard.Renji slings his rifle and ammo over his shoulder while Muguruma, Mila Rose, Kyoraku, and Tousen head right to the back doors and wait for their cue.“Alright, on my count,” Tousen says, holding the door handle. “One, two, three!”He opens the door and immediately jumps out, followed by the others. Renji hears their footsteps moving further away, and then he and Bazz-B move out of the van and head to the back of the building.The sounds of pulse rifle firing fills the air as Renji and Bazz-B make it to the back entrance of the office building, while General Kuchiki and Shihouin head to another entrance. After checking around them, they silently head inside the building.Both Renji and Bazz-B already have their masks over their faces, and as they come to a corner somewhere on the fourth floor, Renji gestures for Bazz-B to get behind him. If there’s going to be any shooting, Renji does not want to see Bazz-B getting hurt before him.He checks to see if the coast is clear, and then they move forward. They find themselves in a large room of cubicles before Ukitake speaks through the headset.“You only have three more floors until you reach the jammer,” he tells them.Renji nods, about to say more when he hears something. Grabbing Bazz-B’s shoulder, he pulls him into a cubicle, ignoring his startled protest.“What the fuck are you-”“Shhh! Don’t move, don’t speak!” Renji hisses.Footsteps enter the room and a beam of light scans the area briefly. Renji and Bazz-B crouch under a desk and they watch a Working Joe walk by without looking inside.“It appears that there’s nothing in this room. Should I use the heartbeat sweeper?” it asks into a radio.
“Affirmative,”
a voice over the radio says.
“Come on! Let’s get outta here!” Renji whispers hastily, pulling Bazz-B up as they rush out of the room into the stairwell.The two of them head upstairs as quietly as possible, trying to rely on their hearing to make sure nothing’s going to sneak up on them. After all, their peripheral vision is slightly restricted by the gas masks, so their hearing is their best bet now.After a short while, they finally find the jammer hidden in an old storage room that hadn’t been emptied out. Tucked away behind some dusty vacuum cleaners and an old generator is a machine the size of a school desk with an antenna on it.“This it?” Renji asks.“Definitely,” Bazz-B says.“Should we toss it out the window?”Bazz-B shakes his head. “You stand by the window,” he tells Renji. “I’ll see what I can do.”Renji moves to stand by the door and keep watch while Bazz-B gets his toolkit out and gets down by the jammer. He quickly starts removing some of the side panels, working quickly and efficiently. “We’ll be outta here in- oh, what’s this?” He picks up some wire cutters. “There we go! Now there’s nothing: no power, no connection to the outside world. And just to make sure-” Bazz-B then cuts off the antenna. “There. Now it’s done.”
"That's it?" Renji asks.
"Did you want it to be hard?" Bazz-B asks.
"No, but-"
"Then let's get the fuck outta here."
Renji nods reluctantly, trying to quell that uneasiness within him. “Alright, then let’s-” He peers around the doorway only to see another Working Joe coming.“Shit! We gotta hide!” he says, hastily rushing into the closet and closing the door.Unfortunately, the damn door doesn’t close quietly, and just as Renji and Bazz-B hide behind the generators, the door opens and the Working Joe looks around the room.“The jammer’s been compromised, doctor,” the Working Joe says in its robotic voice. “The intruders are hiding in this room… yes, the jammer has indeed been destroyed. Several wires have been cut, and the antenna is gone.”
Granz’s voice comes in through the radio.
“When you find the intruders, shoot to kill,”
he orders.
“Yes, doctor.”
Yeah, they don’t have time for this.Renji stands immediately and fires several rounds into the Working Joe’s head. White synthetic fluid sprays everywhere, the android shaking violently as it collapses, more fluid pooling beneath it.He then grabs Bazz-B’s arm. “Let’s get outta here!” he says hurriedly.There’s no point in stealth now. Every android in this building is hostile now, and they have no choice but to shoot at them before they themselves get shot.These Working Joes may have been modified to be better and quicker, but they’re no match for two strong Marines with marksmanship medals. Renji and Bazz-B shoot and reload much quicker than they can all while running, and they leave a trail of mangled bodies and white fluid as they rush down to the lobby.They run into a room full of cubicles. Several androids have taken shelter in individual cubicles, and are pointing handguns at them. Immediately, Renji and Bazz-B get down behind a large plant.“You stay down!” Renji orders.“Got it!”Standing back up, Renji sprays bullets at each cubicle every time a Joe poked its head over to shoot at them. As always, his aim doesn’t let him down, but eventually, he only hears a ‘click’ when he pulls the trigger.“Shit!” Renji curses.Bazz-B pushes Renji behind the plant so he can reload, and Renji makes sure to reload his rifle quickly while observing Bazz-B’s shooting skills.He manages to shoot as many androids as Renji has shot, and more and more are going down with every shot. “Abarai, you reloaded yet?!” he demands.Renji nods. “Yeah!” he says, standing back up with his fully-loaded rifle.The back doors open and more Working Joes enter the foray with handguns.“Goddammit, how many fucking Joes does Granz even have?!” Bazz-B snarls, spraying more bullets into five oncoming androids. “Is he gonna just throw all of ‘em at us?!”At this point, it does look like it, Renji supposes.But right then, after about ten minutes of shooting, the Working Joes stop and lower their weapons, simply staring at Renji and Bazz-B. Knowing what they want, Renji takes his finger off the trigger, and Bazz-B does the same.And then they hear the sound of slow clapping from the door on the other side of the room. Renji tenses up as two people enter into the room: Aizen Sousuke and Szayel Aporro Granz.“Wasn’t that an entertaining show?” Granz asks as he stops clapping, a sneer on his face.“Indeed. No wonder the both of you are highly praised among the brass,” Aizen agrees, smiling at them.Renji narrows his eyes. “Enough is enough,” he barks. “It’s over now, so you guys better come with us if you don’t want the death penalty.”“Oh? You really thought you got us?” Granz asks, raising an eyebrow.
What…?
Renji falters slightly, but regains his composure. “The fuck does that mean?” he demands, trying to ignore the dread that’s returning again.
“We know that you heard all of our plans. We knew that you’d try and use a GPS to track us down, so we simply laid out a fake plan,” Granz continues, smiling cruelly. “Everything you heard over that GPS? Well… it was all a lie.”Ice forms in Renji’s stomach, and he blanches.Bazz-B, on the other hand, glares at them. “The fuck do you mean by that?!” he demands.“Well, instead of going through with our plan to kill those people, we decided to take some hostages of our own,” Granz says, his smile becoming much more sinister. “Bring in the hostages!”“Yes, doctor.” That’s a Working Joe.Renji’s stomach sinks as two Working Joes emerge into the room, dragging three people with them. And in that moment, it’s as if he’s been punched in the stomach.All Renji can do is stare in shock at the sight of Rukia, Ise, and Orihime in the clutches of the Working Joes.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Rukia… Ise… Orihime…” Renji whispers, still staring at the three ladies.
Rukia offers Renji a very tiny smile, trying to say that she’s alright… as if Renji’s supposed to ignore the streak of blood running down the side of her head, the bruises on Ise’s wrists, the red mark and bruise on Orihime’s cheek.“What the fuck?” Bazz-B whispers, also completely stunned.Renji glares at Granz and Aizen. “What the fuck did you do to them?!” he demands, his anger steadily rising. “Just what the fuck is going on here?!”Right then, the doors to the lobby bust open, and Shihouin and General Kuchiki charge through, gas masks on their faces and pulse rifles in their arms.“General!” Renji says.“Nii-sama!” Rukia calls, her voice urgent.General Kuchiki stiffens at Rukia’s voice, and he glances over only to freeze in shock at the sight. Then, his eyes narrow as he looks at Granz and Aizen.“Granz… Aizen…” he greets them coldly.Granz simply raises an eyebrow. “I should’ve known you’d come here,” he says, not at all surprised. “Even the General has quite the soft spot for his sister-in-law, it seems.”“Well, of course he does,” Aizen simply responds, as if they’re talking about the weather. “General Kuchiki has always been very protective of her.”Shihouin frowns. “You both realize what kind of shit you’re in right now?” she asks. “We can either settle this peacefully, or we can do this the hard way.”“Let them go right now,” General Kuchiki warns, aiming his pulse rifle at them. “I’m in no mood for negotiations. You lay so much as a fingernail on them, I’ll pump your fucking bodies full of bullets.”
Holy shit.
Renji can’t help but think. He’s never heard the General curse so strongly, so shit’s definitely gotten real now.
Instead of threatened, Granz simply looks amused. “Oh, will you now?” he asks.Then, he snaps his fingers.Right then, three Weyland-Yutani mercs march forth from the doorway and into the light, each one wielding a handgun. They march over to Rukia, Ise, and Orihime, and press the barrels against their heads, making them flinch.Instantly, Renji tenses up, and he and Bazz-B aim their rifles at the mercs. “Don’t you dare!” he shouts.“Then lower your rifles, or else they’ll get a bullet in their brains,” Granz threatens.Renji pauses and glances at Bazz-B. They both glance over at General Kuchiki, who hesitates for a moment, then slowly lowers his rifle. As Shihouin does the same, Renji and Bazz-B reluctantly lower their rifles.“Good,” Aizen says, his smile becoming a tad bit more cruel. “I’m glad you’ve decided to listen to reason.”“Oh, spare us,” Renji snaps, trying to keep his temper at bay. “What the hell is going on here? Why are you doing this?!”Right then, Granz’s expression goes from amused to hateful, and he glares at Renji. “Why am I doing this? Well, it’s obvious: this is my revenge,” he says.
What?
Renji blinks, surprised for a moment.
“Revenge?” Bazz-B repeats, looking confused. “The fuck is that supposed to mean? Why the fuck would you want revenge?”“Because of Corporal Abarai!” Granz snarls, turning his attention back to Renji. “I could’ve had my samples of the Xenomorph XX121 if it wasn’t for you. But you’ve fucked everything up twice now!”Renji can’t even believe what he’s hearing. “You can’t be serious,” he retorts incredulously.Then the full thing registers in his mind. “Wait a minute…” He narrows his eyes, that uneasiness coming back in full force. “What do you mean by ‘twice’?”“As you know, the first time was Iwashiro,” Granz continues. “The second time, however, is Hokutan.”Ice forms in Renji’s stomach, and it’s as if someone’s punched him in the gut. Bazz-B also stares at Granz in anger and shock, while Shihouin and General Kuchiki just stand still, just taking in all this information. And Ise and Orihime just stare at Granz, just as shocked.“How do you know about Hokutan?” Ise demands, ignoring the hard press of the barrel on her forehead.“You know Kurotsuchi Mayuri?” Granz asks them. “Well, I’d sent him along with the Marines to collect Xenomorph samples, but he failed and got himself killed.”Again, it’s like someone punched Renji’s gut. He stares at Granz in shock first, and then quickly becomes angry again. “Wait a minute… you sent him with us?” he demands.
That’s why Kurotsuchi had locked them in that facility, endangering their lives in the process. That’s why he’d trapped Ise and Orihime in the medlab with those parasites… he was working for Granz.
General Kuchiki’s eyes are burning with a cold fury. “You sent one of your most morally unethical scientists with them?” he demands. “Do you even know just how much you endangered them?”“I’m surprised you’re taking this personally, General,” Aizen observes, somewhat amused. “Sounds like you’ve grown fond of these Marines.”“It doesn’t matter if they’re recruits or high-ranking officers. Anyone who endangers my Marines, especially for something as dangerous as these Xenomorphs, deserves whatever fate awaits them,” General Kuchiki says sharply.Remembering Kurotsuchi’s actions on LV-352 makes Renji’s blood boil now. He’s so tempted to just shoot Granz, but the WeYu PMCs holding guns to Rukia, Ise, and Orihime’s heads stops him from doing so.
Instead, his lips curl into a snarl. “Why?” he demands. “Why the hell do you even want those fucking monsters, you goddamn psychopath?! Don’t you even know how dangerous they are?! People have
died
because you decided that their lives are worth shit compared to those things, and you want to bring them to Earth?! The fuck is wrong with you?!”
“Well, let me tell you something,” Granz begins. “You see, it all started several decades ago, long before any of us were even born. There was an expedition to learn more about the origins of humanity, known as the
Prometheus
expedition. They encountered a race of beings known as Engineers; they are the ones who created the original Xenomorphs as bioweapons. As you can imagine, that expedition was disastrous, and only two people survived.”
Renji and the others stay silent as Granz continues explaining whatever this is.
“One of the two survivors was killed by the other,” Granz continues. “The second survivor, an android known as David, used the Engineers’ biotechnology, such as those polar flowers, to recreate, perfect, and develop upon the Xenomorphs, all in the hopes of creating the ultimate predators. The Engineers were eradicated in the process, but it doesn’t matter. He was discovered by another expedition decades later, the
Covenant
expedition, and he’d used them to develop the Xenomorphs even further. And now, thanks to his efforts, the Xenomorph XX121 exists. And even better… he sent a transmission all about it to the Company.”
Granz looks almost elated as he recounts this tale, but Renji just feels sick to his stomach.These things… they’ve existed long before he was even born.How many people have encountered them before him? How many more people have died because of them?“What’s the point of this history lesson, Granz?” Shihouin demands, very much unimpressed.“If we get our hands on the Xenomorphs, then we humans will be much more powerful than ever,” Granz declares. “Nothing will ever stand a chance against the perfect organism.”Again, Renji can’t believe what he’s hearing. “You admire it,” he accuses, his voice filled with disgust.“I admire its purity,” Granz says. “Its structural perfection is only matched by its hostility. It’s a survivor… unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.”Like everyone else, General Kuchiki is as disgusted with Granz’s reasoning, and he glares at Aizen. “And you agree with this, Aizen?” he demands. “You’re willing to put innocent lives in danger for these creatures?”“If it means attaining greater power, so be it,” Aizen says confidently. “We should not allow ourselves to be content with the limits of our power. If we have the Xenomorph as a weapon, then we as humans will be much more powerful than any other race in this universe.”
Renji’s heard enough. “You guys are crazy, you know that?” he tells them. “Those creatures
can’t be controlled.
They’re a fucking disease; all they do is kill until there’s nothing left. And you think you can control it?”
“As always, you Marines are just letting your petty grudges and personal feelings get in the way of looking at the bigger picture,” Granz says derisively.
“This isn’t about petty grudges, you son of a bitch!” Renji shouts. “Those things have killed people, Granz! My previous unit, an entire space station, an off-planet science facility, those expedition crews, and who knows how many more people,
they’re all fucking dead!
They’ve torn apart so many lives already, and if those things get on Earth, it’ll be a fucking bloodbath! Are you seriously telling me your precious bioweapons will be worth all the blood on your hands?!”
“Well, if people die, then it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make,” Granz responds. “And besides, I don’t think you should be talking when you can easily be reduced to a catatonic fool just from
this.”
He pulls out a sheet of sketch paper from his pocket and holds it up to Renji, revealing a sketch of a Facehugger and a Xenomorph on the page.
Instantly, Renji freezes in place as a cold sweat washes over him. His grip on his rifle loosens and he finds himself stepping backwards as his heart pounds against his chest.
No, not again…
“Too easy,” Granz sneers at him. “How you were able to even get the Order of the Noble Sakura is beyond me.”“Fuck you, asshole,” Bazz-B snarls, glaring at Granz. “Abarai’s one of the best Marines I know.”“Really, now?”“Yeah, ‘cause he’s human. His trauma hasn’t stopped him from saving us from those fucking aliens on LV-352, and he cares about all of us to make sure we don’t go through hell like he did,” Bazz-B tells him.“Exactly. And besides, the fact that he’s refused to quit his career speaks volumes about him,” General Kuchiki adds. “I’ve never seen a Marine with this much loyalty before Abarai enlisted, actually.”“Oh, stop excusing him,” Granz says derisively.“Oh, just shut the fuck up, Granz,” Shihouin retorts.A shout of pain from the doorway suddenly gets everyone’s attention, and they turn to see Orihime, having somehow freed herself, plunging a knife into a merc’s leg, sending him to the ground.“Don’t touch me!” she shouts with a surprising viciousness in her voice.As the other mercs scramble to help the fallen one, Orihime rushes to free Ise and Rukia, much to Granz’s rage.“What the hell are you doing?!” Granz demands. “Stop them!”Right then, a ceiling panel above him busts open, snapping Renji out of his shock, and then Urahara plunges down on top of Granz, sending him crashing to the ground.“What the fuck?!” Granz demands, struggling to get up as Urahara climbs off him.“Sorry for startling you,” Urahara says nonchalantly. “I figured that you would need some help, and after hearing everything, I could no longer stay hidden.”And then the front doors crash open, revealing none other than Mila Rose, Muguruma, Kyoraku, and Tousen, all of them with rifles in their arms.“Sorry about the delay,” Kyoraku says, a wry smile in his voice. “But we’ve cuffed all the PMCs and called the ambulances for the kidnapped civilians. And we also found the polar flowers in a different storage room.”Renji rushes to Granz and hauls him up from the ground while taking out a pair of handcuffs from his belt. “That’s enough from you,” he says, snapping the handcuffs on his wrists.“It’s over now,” General Kuchiki adds as he restrains Aizen, cuffing his wrists. “Let’s head out. Shihouin, you get the ladies and make sure they’re checked over and treated. As for those flowers… take only two samples. The rest of them can burn.”“Yes, sir.”As Renji leads Granz outside, Bazz-B approaches him. “You did good,” he says.Renji just nods, a weak smile on his face. “Thanks.”There are a lot more Gotei vehicles outside the building when Renji and Bazz-B arrive outside with the handcuffed Granz. In addition, a few MPs have set up a barricade to bar some news channel crews from entering the area, though it’s not stopping some journalists from taking pictures.After four MPs come and take Granz and Aizen away, Mila Rose and Muguruma approach Renji as they all take their gas masks off.“You alright?” Mila Rose asks him.“I’m fine,” Renji says honestly.“How ‘bout you, dumbass?” Muguruma asks Bazz-B. “You okay?”“Felt good to hold a weapon again, man,” Bazz-B says with a laugh.Right then, General Kuchiki approaches the four of them. “You did good back there. I’m glad to say that this was a success,” he says, shaking their hands. “You’re damn good Marines, all of you.”He then turns to Renji. “Abarai, what you did in there just confirms everything I said about you when I gave you that medal,” he adds. “I do hope you’ll be able to feel proud now.”“I don’t really know about that, sir,” Renji admits. “I mean, I nearly went into shock over a drawing.”“Don’t blame yourself for that,” General Kuchiki tells him. “You still confronted him and Aizen quite well. You’re not a robot, Corporal, so I wouldn’t expect you to not react to it.”“If that’s how you feel, sir, then… alright,” Renji says, smiling a bit more confidently now. “Where’s Rukia, Ise, and Orihime?”
“The medics are checking them over,” General Kuchiki says, gesturing over to a nearby ambulance.
Renji heads over to them to see how they’re doing. When he gets there, he sees Rukia with a bandage over her forehead, and a band-aid on Orihime’s cheek.Upon seeing him, Rukia smiles slightly. “Renji,” she says.“How are you ladies feeling?” Renji asks them.“I’m not hurt too badly,” Rukia reassures him. “But honestly… I think I’m gonna quit Weyland-Yutani after this. Then I’ll join the Gotei’s science department.” She sighs softly, glancing at Renji again. “I… I’m sorry.”“Hey, don’t blame yourself,” Renji says, his voice gentle. “I’m not holding anything against you. Besides, it’s not like you knew about these schemes, right?”“You’re right,” Rukia agrees, still somewhat reluctant.Renji then turns to Ise. “You alright?” he asks.Ise nods. “I’m fine,” she says. “But god… the Company had better be going down after this. And Granz and Aizen should definitely be heading to prison.”
Hopefully.
Renji thinks.
And then he turns to Orihime, remembering how she’d managed to free herself. “And you, Orihime?” he asks. “How’d you free yourself like that?”Orihime smiles slightly. “Well, the merc was starting to, uh… grope me, and that’s when I remembered I had this!” She holds up a very familiar combat knife.Renji raises his eyebrows as he smiles. “You kept my knife,” he says.“Yup! I managed to get it out of my pocket and then used it to cut my ropes, and then stabbed the merc who was fondling me,” Orihime continues, looking somewhat proud of herself.“Atta girl,” Renji praises, ruffling her hair. “You’re pretty badass.”Orihime blushes slightly, but her smile doesn’t leave her face.Right then, an MP comes up to Renji, informing him that the General wishes to speak with him and his squadmates. Heading back to where they are, Renji listens as General Kuchiki speaks to them.“As much as I wish to continue the remainder of our training, I’m afraid we have too many things to deal with now,” General Kuchiki tells them. “We have to deal with destroying the flowers, handling the press, decrypting the rest of those documents, collecting witness testimonies, and I do not wish to drag all of you any further into this. Weyland-Yutani will do everything they can to make sure none of this is exposed, and I don’t doubt that they’re above killing Marines to keep them quiet. So I’ll have to send you back to your base.”General Kuchiki looks apologetic as he says that, but Renji understands why he’s doing this. “Don’t apologize, sir,” Renji says. “It’s understandable why you have to send us back. But I think we learned a lot from this whole experience, so I wouldn’t say that it’s been pointless. I enjoyed whatever training we did.”“He’s right,” Mila Rose agrees. “It wasn’t pointless at all.”A small smile appears on General Kuchiki’s face. “I’m glad that you understand,” he says sincerely. “Let’s return to base now. We have a lot to deal with.”Two days later, it’s time for them to head back to Kamakura. While Renji does wish they have more time to train, General Kuchiki is right in sending them back. It’s all for their own safety. Nevertheless, he’s still very grateful that he’s had this opportunity not just for training, but also in achieving that closure.His bags are all packed, and his armour and pulse rifle are also packed away and being sent to the airfield. Bazz-B, Mila Rose, and Muguruma have already packed up everything and are waiting outside, but Renji’s just doing a quick sweep of their quarters to make sure no one’s left anything behind when he hears a quiet knock on the door.Straightening himself, Renji turns to see General Kuchiki standing in the doorway, holding a long slim box in his arms.“General?” Renji asks.“Rukia told me your birthday is coming soon, at the end of August, am I correct?” General Kuchiki asks.“Yes, sir.”“Well, she wanted to get you something, and I helped her buy it.” General Kuchiki holds out the box. “Happy early birthday, Abarai.”Surprised, yet curious, Renji takes the box and opens up the lid, and he stops in complete shock. “This is…”Inside the box is a vintage pump-action shotgun. But it’s not just any old shotgun, it’s an Ithaca model 37, along with a box of ammo.Renji smiles for real. “This is… thank you so much, sir,” he says sincerely. “I’m definitely not going to let this get destroyed.”
“You’d better.” Despite the warning tone, General Kuchiki’s eyes are mirthful as he holds his hand out.
Taking his hand, Renji is then quickly surprised when he’s pulled into a quick, yet warm hug. However, he smiles and hugs the General back before they break the embrace.“Don’t tell anyone about this,” General Kuchiki tells him, averting his eyes.“I won’t,” Renji promises as they head out to the vehicle.It’s a little weird to have hugged a superior officer, but Renji would be lying if he said he doesn’t like it.Before they head outside, General Kuchiki glances at Renji. “Would… Would you say that you’ve managed to achieve closure now?” he asks.Renji thinks for a moment. Honestly, he does feel a lot lighter, in spite of learning a lot of new things from Granz. But the guilt is still lingering within him, and it'll probably take a long time for it to go away. “In a way, I guess,” he admits. “Feels like some of the weight has been lifted from my shoulders, but the guilt is still kind of stuck.”“That’s how it is, unfortunately. But it will go away in time,” General Kuchiki says. “Honestly, I envy you, Abarai.” His voice is truthful, much to Renji’s shock.“You're jealous? Of me?”“You managed to get closure for Iwashiro. I don’t think I ever will get mine for LV-245.” The General’s voice is somewhat bitter.Renji’s heart aches slightly, but he offers him a smile. “I’m sure it’ll come eventually, sir,” he reassures him. “Thank you for helping me reach mine.”That cheers the General up a bit. “You’re very welcome, Abarai.”The drive to Naha Airfield is fairly silent for the most part. Renji sits next to Unohana for the drive, and when they arrive at the airfield and disembark with their bags, General Kuchiki makes sure to see them off.“Thank you again, sir,” Renji says, his voice sincere. “Thank you for everything. And good luck.”General Kuchiki regards them with a smile as the others thank him sincerely. “It’s my pleasure to have been able to train you,” he says. “I do hope to see you all in the near future.”“We hope to see you again, sir,” Bazz-B says. “Thank you again.”“You’re welcome. Have a safe flight.”And with that, Renji and his squadmates board the plane back to Kamakura.It’s evening by the time they land at the Kamakura Air Base, and by the time they disembark, gather all their bags, armour, and weaponry, and then drive back to their base, the sky is a vivid display of pink and orange.As the car pulls up at the building, Renji is surprised to see Zaraki and the rest of the squad actually waiting for them at the front.“Sarge? What are you guys doing here?” Renji asks as he gets out, a smile on his face.“The General told me that something came up, so he’s sending you guys back here,” Zaraki tells him, a small grin on his face. “It’s good to have you all back.”“Aww, so you missed me?” Bazz-B asks with a teasing grin on his face.“Yeah, even you, Black,” Zaraki says, just rolling his eyes. He then turns to the others. “Now come on and help ‘em carry stuff inside!”As Renji takes his bag and brand-new shotgun, Hisagi and Iba come to help them with their pulse rifles, smartguns, and armour.“So, what exactly happened in Naha?” Hisagi asks, grinning at Renji. “You guys did some training right?”“Of course we did!” Mila Rose says, taking her smartgun and armour.“But a lot of shit happened there as well,” Muguruma adds.“Oh? You guys gonna tell us about it?” Iba asks.Renji smiles. “Well, it’s a long story,” he says as they head inside.“Who cares? You’d better tell us everything, Abarai,” Soifon tells him.“Don’t worry, we’ll tell you all about it,” Bazz-B says with a grin.Once more, Renji smiles for real. It feels great to be home.