The mid afternoon sun was shining down, casting shadows that danced across the walls as the wind blew through the leaves of the trees and shrubbery. Renkai, for reasons known only to himself, chose to spend his days off here. It was far from his favorite place in the world, in fact, it caused him pain to set his eyes upon the very ground he found himself walking on now. Being here, memories haunted him as if the ghosts of his past had come back to torture him.

Why he did it to himself would likely forever remain a mystery.

Today he had left his glasses at home. They wouldn't be needed. A gentle breeze washed briefly over the area, Renkai's robes and hair flowing with the manipulation of the wind. A painful sigh escaped his lips, the man coming to a stop now. There before him stood a twisted and gnarled looking tree with two deep scars gnashed diagonally across its bark. A few tears ran from the corners of his eyes as he raised his hand to the tree, slowly fingering the scars.

The year was 1,699 n.w. in the month of December. Snow had fallen the previous night, coating most of everything in a soft white blanket. It was now the last night of the year before January would make its return, marking the start of another century. The night was still, save for the new snow that had started to fall, though the sound of a man crying for help echoed through the abandoned streets. Most people were nestled in their beds. "I promise... We're going to get you help," the man panted, frantically trying to spit his words out as he gasped for air. He had been running, and he carried the frail body of an injured woman in his arms. The trail of blood showed that they had come from the direction of the Rukon city. It was imperative that the two reach the hospital, but in his mind, the man knew that time was wearing thin. His sense of urgency allowed him to ignore the burning stitch in his side, as well as his lungs that screamed for him to stop running and catch his breath. But his own well being was not at the forefront of his mind. If he could just stop time and make it to the hospital, surely they could save the woman in his arms. They were already inside the south gate and had mere meters separating them from their destination. It was too late, however, and the woman reached a bloodied hand up to caress the man's face, "Renkai... My love," the woman said with a weakened voice, "I must say goodbye to you now..." A cough erupted from her lips, blood spattering across the man's face. "No! You can't leave me!" He was shouting in a panic, tears welling up in his eyes. He had come to a stop and stood before a particular twisted and gnarled looking tree. The woman smiled, and her expression softened as she looked into his eyes, "I love you... Renkai, my darling..." With that, the woman closed her eyes and let out her final breath, her body suddenly becoming limp, lifeless. Dropping to his knees, the man began to weep, holding the woman's body close to his own. Sorrow soon gave way to anguish, though, and he began to scream. Not words, just rage. This continued for a moment before he stood up, lashing out with his Zanpakuto at the closest thing to him; the tree. It didn't take long for his screams to draw attention, and people began to surround him from within the medical division. Two men seized him from under his arms to stop him from attacking the tree, though he did not fight. Instead, he began to weep again, and screamed, "I COULDN'T SAVE HER! WHY COULDN'T I?! WHY?!" The medical examiners had already determined they could do nothing, and covered her body with a sheet in, preparing to move her body elsewhere. As they began to cart her off, the man fought the hands that held him back, though it was to no avail. His screams did not cease, however, and they echoed throughout the night, "NO! PLEASE NO!! PLEASE, GOD!!"

Renkai stood in silence as his tears streamed down his cheeks. He would never forget.

Surly and grumbling, staggering out of the Second Division's main building on stiff legs, Kiba was in the process of making all haste toward the Rukon in order to take his mind off of the matters weighing on him when suddenly, his vision fell upon a familiar face.

Kiba paused and stared at the man with his hand on a tree, mind racing, putting a name to the face... and then it hit him. This was his Fukutaicho - apparently weeping at a willow rather than doing anything worth while. Gritting his teeth, Kiba altered his course, dragging himself on dead legs toward the tree; upon reaching the trunk, he would lurch forward, slapping his left palm into the tree and sending a shudder through the plant as he stared down at the fukutaicho.

"Well here's a stranger's face if ever there was one. What's your excuse?" Reasonably certain his palm was bleeding, having just struck the hard bark of a tree, Kiba hardly cared - this was as good a venting position as actually shaping wood.

"Before you ask, I mean the excuse for not being present during the emergency all-call where I could have used any sort of competent back-up in order to keep my hide intact. Because the guy who was in your position before you was sure as hell there, and you were about as useful to me as he was."

Granted, that was unfair - having been attacked by a Taicho, there was likely very little Renkai could have done to help Kiba in the slightest. But Kiba had a history of being terribly irrational when angry, and after a prolonged stay in the medical ward after being attacked by an ally? Kiba was angry.

Recognizing the voice of his Taicho, Renkai wiped his tears and turned to face him, standing at full attention. "I apologize, sir. I was on duty elsewhere. I was not informed of the situation until it had already come to pass."

It was difficult to remain at attention when his mind was still lingering on old thoughts of his broken heart. It had been three centuries now, but he had been in love and that was torn from him. There was no way for him to move on from the pain.

"Oh, well, you're sorry." Kiba growled, the hand on the tree's bark clenching down, causing the hard surface to begin cracking under the pressure of his squeeze. Half turning away, Kiba raised his right hand to the Second Division, waving slightly. "It's okay, everybody - he's sorry! Not to worry about the lack of response, he just apparently didn't get the message that went out to every inch of the city!"

Turning back to Renkai, Kiba clenched his teeth as he pulled his hand off the tree, clenching his fingers around the small shards of bark that had stuck. A circle of loose bark fell away, leaving a small circle of exposed tree behind, and the Taicho rolled his neck to try and simply move the anger away. Breathing slowly, Kiba was mildly proud of the fact that he hadn't yet resorted to anything physical - Sumie would have patted him on the back.

Of course, that only renewed his thoughts to Sumie, and specifically, Sumie's Taicho, who no doubt Sumie was beside right now. Kiba doubted the red-haired woman would try anything against Sumie... but then, that was the problem with the mad. You could just never be sure.

"Quit your damned crying. You have a job to do." Kiba finally snarled, arms shaking. "Go find Sumie, somewhere in the Rukongai, and let her know I'm out of the Second Division and in fine health. Tell her I'm going to rest, and that I'll see her tomorrow. And then do not leave her side until she's back in Seireitei and away from Kurisuna-Taicho. If she asks, I sent you to watch the both of them, and if you come back while they're still out, you can expect trouble."

Kiba waited a few moments, letting the words sink, then nodded. "Yeah. That's what I want you to do. Any questions?"

Renkai gritted his teeth very briefly, anger welling up inside him. However, he needed to appear complacent, and quickly released his clenched jaw. Luckily, that sort of thing was always masked by his beard. "No sir. I have no questions. I will leave immediately."

He wanted to hit the man that stood before him, regardless of the repercussions, however he was always in control of his emotions and kept his wishes to himself. Of course, his mind was full of things he wanted to say to his Taicho about his insincerity. Perhaps if he knew what it was like to lose someone so dear, he would understand. He wished no harm on Sumie, only for his Taicho to understand what real heartache felt like. There was a part of him that wanted the world to feel his pain, though it was only a small shard of him. He knew that nothing could ever bring back the woman he had loved all those years ago.

Turning to head off on his new directives, Renkai made his way straight for the south gate. He stopped, though, before going through. Despite his anger toward his Taicho, he said to the man, "I'm glad to see you will live to fight another day, sir." And with that, he backed through the gate and started his sprint to the Rukongai. [Exit]

As his lieutenant raced off with some snarky comment or other, Kiba strongly considered maiming the damned tree some more in order to vent his prodigious rage. Instead he simply sighed, clenching his fists, even as the rage slowly boiled out of him - there simply wasn't that much to be upset over, or at least at, except for himself. He'd been aware on some level at least that the damned woman had it out for him. Had he maybe simply forced himself to believe she wouldn't take it much further than splattering him with fish-guts and feeding him the evil eye at every opportunity? If so, it was almost his own damned fault he'd been attacked. But Kiba wasn't feeling much in the mood to investigate his own thought processes - no, Kiba was in the mood to not think at all.

Grousing and grumbling, Kiba resumed his stiff-legged walk, though the numb limbs were already starting to get feeling back. It wouldn't be long, he told himself, before he was off and out and doing something to appease his own sense of a desire for busywork.

[Exit]

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