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A Shadow of What Was	By : katami Category: Bleach > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 49594 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 86
- 87
- 88
Author's Notes: I have a chapter! This is not the chapter that was planned, but months of pounding my head against the wall has not moved Shiro and so he is getting bumped in favor of people who will actually talk to me. I will take this moment to assure everyone this story is still alive and to thank everyone who has shown their support. My life is a little unstable at the moment, meaning not conducive to writing, but I will try and have chapters out at more reasonable pace and shall continue to pray for an end to the madness.

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Renji sighed in weary pleasure and mixed dread as the base came into view. On the one hand he got to stop traipsing all over Karakura looking for Urahara - not that they were going to find the kid. Urahara had gone to ground and if there was one thing the blonde knew how to do it was work under the radar. They wouldn't see even a hint of the former Shinigami until he wanted to be found and anyone who didn't know that was an idiot.

On the other hand, coming home meant confronting the mountain of paperwork awaiting him - or more accurately, the mountain of paperwork Uryuu would demand he be present for the Quincy working on. It was one of the myriad of little things that made them work - Uryuu handled the paperwork and Renji handled Uryuu. Frankly, the Quincy was loads better at it than him anyway; Uryuu had penmanship skills that would have met and exceeded even Byakuya�s exacting standards. The only problem was Uryuu insisted if he was going to write the damned reports then Renji was at least going to read and sign them.

Three weeks of writing his own reports had convinced him that reading Uryuu�s really wasn�t so bad.

Renji grinned as he caught a flash of black hair and a tiny glint of light from within a small throng of young officers. Uryuu. He trotted up to his lover and gave the Quincy a quick kiss before tossing his arm around the other man's shoulders and tucking Uryuu against his side. The move earned him a stern glare for the public display and a muttered, "Get off, you oaf." The youngsters, all of them Third division members and well used to their displays, just snickered and pretended not to notice. Especially since Uryuu would skin anyone who didn't.

"Don't you people have work to do?" he asked in a friendly growl, eyeing the junior officers and watching them scatter, eager to be out of sight and busy before other less pleasant tasks could be found for them. The kids out of sight Renji leaned into try and weasel another - longer - kiss out of his lover, frowning when long fingers blocked his path.

"You have work to do as well," murmured the Quincy, a smug grin on his lips. He looked relaxed and confident, with that almost feline self-assurance he got when things were going well - that air of complete and total superiority that both drove Renji up the wall and made him want to shove Uryuu up against a wall.

"Now what?" he asked, almost dreading the answer. Frankly, the only things he really wanted to do were have a hot shower, grab a quick meal and cuddle up with Uryuu to enjoy a well deserved sixteen hours of sleep.

"A well earned nap - in our own bed, I might add," purred the Quincy, blue eyes sparkling behind his glasses, filling with that sensual fire that Renji loved so much. He groaned, the temptation of his mattress and Uryuu's cool sheets a siren's song of sweet bliss. He pulled his lover closer, kissing him and melting against him. Sleep and Uryuu, what more could any reasonable person ask for? He let himself go and relaxed for just a moment against the Quincy, trusting that for this one instant that Uryuu would handle everything.

Uryuu nuzzled his neck and jaw when the kiss ended, fingers sliding up to undo his ponytail and let his hair fall free. "What happened to Ichigo?" he asked, giving a happy rumble as long fingers tangled in his hair. "Don't tell me you kicked his ass without me."

"I didn't need to. His sisters got him up and a call from Kisuke has him not only moving but positively beaming," announced Uryuu.

"The kid called him?!?"

"Apparently a few hours apart helped him calm down. He's already half in love with Ichigo; or he would be if he would stop being so scared of being in love with him. Anyway, Kisuke wants to have dinner with him tonight, talk things out. If Ichigo can manage not to screw it up, he and Urahara might be back together very soon." Renji could see the relief and pleased contentment in the archer's eyes, Uryuu would never admit it, but Renji knew seeing their friend so broken had hurt the Quincy. Ichigo was the closest either of them had to a brother; he had stood beside them in the fiery hell of battle and laughed with them in the tranquil lulls.

He had always been there for them - both of them - even when he and Uryuu had been nothing but a string of fights and one night stands. Ichigo had been there to pick them both up and help beat some sense back into their heads, reminded then that under all the arrogance and temper there had been respect and true affection.

Renji brushed a kiss against his lover's brow, a faint, winsome smile crossing his lips.

The smile slipped away as his lover's reiatsu, which had been a silky caress against his skin, turned cold and sharp, like an icy lash. Renji winced and his eyes sought Uryuu's, noticing that they were focused on something behind him, something that had his lover dangerously annoyed. "No. No, he wouldn't," he heard Uryuu whisper, his voice a soft, malicious hiss.

The redhead kept a grip on the archer's wrist as he was pushed aside, his eyes following Uryuu's gaze as his body turned, and instantly spotting what had affected his lover -

Ishida Ryuuken stood only a few dozen meters away. Rukia stood next to him, her hand at his lips. Their body language spoke not only of familiarity but of affection and attraction. If they were not yet lovers they very soon would be, thought Renji, wincing at the realization.

"That son of a bitch," came Uryuu's soft growl, the words grated out and filled with so much anger that even Renji was shocked at the sound of them.

Uryuu pulled his hand free, stalking over to his father and knocking Rukia's hand from the older man's grasp. They had both turned to stare at the Quincy when his reiatsu had flared, but the elder Ishida had kept his hold on Rukia's hand and stood there waiting with that inscrutable Quincy calm. Renji saw the older man's eyes narrowly dangerous as Uryuu struck his hand away though and winced at the explosion he could already see coming.

"You goddamn son of a bitch! How dare you!?!"

Ice seemed to roll over the elder Quincy, his face closing off and a relaxed readiness loosening his limbs, while his eyes grew hard and remote - dangerous. For one tiny instant Renji was impressed. He had never seen what Ishida Ryuuken was capable of, but seeing him now, it was easy to imagine the destruction he could wreck. Rage washed away the veneer of civilization the older man liked to wrap himself in and left something primal and fierce, something that had stepped into the world of monsters and stood toe to toe with them.

"Baby," he whispered, laying a careful but restraining hand on Uryuu's arm.

"Who I choose to associate with and what I choose to do with my life are none of your concern." Ryuuken's words were mild and controlled, and as treacherous as black ice on a darkened night.

"What happened to not associating with the Shinigami!" hissed Uryuu, his face twisting into a haughty sneer.

"Rather pointless after you started sleeping with one," snapped Ryuuken, his voice razor sharp as he cut across his son.

"AND YOU PRACTICALLY DISOWNED ME FOR IT!" screamed Uryuu. "Or do six fucking years not speaking to me not ring a bell!"

"I was trying to protect you, you ungrateful brat!" snarled Ryuuken, his blue eyes flashing dangerously. "Trying to give you a chance at a normal life! A life that didn't involve Shinigami or their wars!"

"You unmitigated bastard!" hissed Uryuu, surging forward to throw a punch at his father. Renji tried to catch him, knowing that nothing good would come of that punch connecting. The Quincy slid through his fingers though and he winced at the sound of flesh meeting flesh, glancing up to see Ishida Ryuuken clutching Uryuu's fist, an unpleasant sneer twisting the older man's lips.

"I see your control has slipped as far as your manners," growled Ryuuken, twisting his wrist and applying pressure to Uryuu's, making the brunette wince. "And while the Shinigami might find these little displays impressive, I don't."

Renji leapt forward to try and free his lover, missing as Ryuuken stepped back, the sudden move twisting Uryuu's wrist further and drawing a sharp sound of pain from the younger man. Renji wasn't quite sure what happened next, but suddenly Uryuu managed to jerk his hand free and then both archers were holding bows, glaring at each other down the length of shimmering arrows.

"Ishida-san, please," whispered Rukia, laying a gentle hand on Ryuuken's arm. The look Uryuu shot her was murderous and Renji wanted to yell at her to stay out of it. One angry Quincy was bad enough but getting between two of them was damn near suicidal.

"Stay out of this," hissed Uryuu, sending an arrow flying mere millimeters over her hand. Rukia jerked her hand clear, giving Uryuu a startled look as Ryuuken glared cold murder at his son.

"Try that again and I will take you apart," snarled Ryuuken and Renji glanced up to see him firing his own shot. The blue arrow landed only millimeters from where Uryuu's toe had been; the younger man had leapt aside.

"I'm not some broken child this time," hissed Uryuu, his eyes blazing as he returned fire. Renji cursed and dove for cover, knowing that the elder Quincy wouldn't let that stand. He glanced up to see Ryuuken leveling a shot at his son. He was aiming for Uyruu's hand, which the only reason the redhead didn't try and gut him. An arrow through the hand would hurt like hell, but it wouldn't actually cause any permanent damage to his lover and it would put a stop to the fight before either Quincy could kill the other.

"Uryuu! Baby," he tried, as his lover leapt aside and fired another shot at his father - not aiming for the hand. Ryuuken twisted aside with a growl, firing back. Renji groaned as he watched the two Quincy face off. It was almost beautiful in a way, like a dance. Both of them were quick and graceful, dodging and firing, flicking from place to place. They were growling insults and accusations at each other, old hurts and bitterness. A lifetime worth of wounds and hatred thrown bare and aimed to inflict the most harm.

"We have to stop them," shouted Rukia, and Renji wondered if he was the only person left on the planet who wasn't insane. Getting between two pissed off Quincy was a recipe for a quick messy death.

"I was never good enough for you!" Uryuu was shouting, making Renji wince, able to hear the decades old pain and the savage rage that had grown from it.

"Get whoever you can. Officers only," he told Rukia, trying to figure out how many people it would take to stop the Quincy. If they could be stopped.

Ryuuken cursed and Renji's head whipped toward the sound, seeing the last flicker of an arrow and watching red blood well from the elder Ishida. It was a body shot, low and on the right side, not immediately fatal but Renji knew it had changed the rules for the two archers. He cursed and leapt from the low wall he had sought shelter behind. It was one thing for the two Quincy to duke it out, but when they started connecting like that... Renji knew how fast things could change in a fight and while he might not like Ishida Ryuuken, he knew that Uryuu would hate himself forever if he actually hurt the other man.

He tackled his lover, sending them both rolling and grunting as a sharp elbow caught him in the solar plexus. Reiatsu washed over him, filled with outraged betrayal, and Renji caught tear filled blue eyes filled with such hatred that for a moment he was startled. He had seen Uryuu angry, even enraged, he had never seen the other man hate though.

Uryuu struggled beneath his bulk and Renji prayed the Rukia hurried. He outweighed Uryuu by a good twenty pounds or more, but the Quincy was quick and agile and had trained with him for more than twenty years; Uryuu knew every trick he had. And while he didn't want to hurt the Quincy, Uryuu was not being as careful.

"Baby, please," he grunted, an elbow to the face colliding with his left eye.

"I'll kill him!" snarled Uryuu, twisting violently, earning a jab to the mouth but nearly slipping from Renji's grasp.

"Renji!"

Ichigo's voice. Renji thanked whatever gods wanted to take credit. "Help me! He's going to kill his father!" A moment later another body landed in the tangle, grabbing Uryuu's legs. The archer continued to struggle like an enraged weasel, twisting and turning, elbows and knees flying as teeth and nails fought for purchase.

Someone muttered a quick spell and Uryuu finally stilled. "Get a collar on him! He can break any spell you can cast," ordered Hitsugaya, several junior officers cautiously approaching the frozen Quincy. Renji snarled at them, ripping the suppressor from their hands and carefully fastening it around his lover's throat, trying to ignore the blue eyes boring into him with malice and a sliver of hurt betrayal. He tried not to wince as Uryuu's familiar spiritual presence vanished and a small shocked gasp slipped from the archer's lips.

"I'm sorry, baby," he whispered, tenderly brushing Uryuu's hair back from his face and gently shifting him so Ichigo could bind his hands. The redhead wasn�t sure he could handle performing that breach of his love�s trust. Renji released a heavy breath as Ichigo finished, snapping Hitsugaya's spell and carefully lifting his lover, cradling Uryuu close. He wanted so much to wrap his lover up and hold him until the hurt was over, but he knew that the brunette would likely claw his eyes out at the moment. "Can you handle the bastard?" he asked Ichigo, glancing around for Ryuuken but not spotting the other Quincy - and not particularly caring when his own love�s heart was breaking. He was fairly sure the older man was around however, he wouldn't have been moving fast with the wound he had taken.

Ichigo gave him an easy nod.

"What the hell..." began Hitsugaya, glaring darkly as Renji stood to take Uryuu inside. The younger man grew quiet as he took them in and then released a weary sigh. "Never mind. I'll get the story later. Handle Ishida." Renji gave him a grateful nod and carried the Quincy inside, wondering if there was any bandage big enough to wrap the wound Ishida Ryuuken had torn open.
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A Shadow of What Was