You better run, runts!

Abarai Renji walked the streets of one of the poorer districts of Rukongai. He didn't have to be here- he wasn't on assignment right now. Hell, part of him didn't want to be here. This was where he had spent most of his childhood stealing and pickpocketing, risking life and limb for a small meal that probably wouldn't even fill his stomach.

Still, this was also where he had first met Rukia, who had become one of his closest friends. She had also been the one who had inspired him to become a Shinigami.

"Yeah, you better run, you little runts!" bellowed a fat, sweating merchant. He carried a club in his hands and appeared to be chasing three children who had stolen some fruit from him. "Those children are thieves! Stop them!" He bellowed to other merchants as he ran by. More merchants began to gather, with some of them in front of the children in an attempt to cut off their exit. In the poorer areas of Rukongai, the local guardsmen were usually either lazy or corrupt if not corrupt. As such, the merchants protected one another. A minor theft could easily gather a vengeful mob such as this.

As a Shinigami of the Thirteen Protection Squads, it was Renji's primary duty to protect Soul Society from Hollows, Arrancar, and other external threats. He was also tasked with keeping the peace, and although the situation hardly warranted the presence of a Vice Captain, the civil guard seemed to be nowhere nearby.

If he didn't act quickly, those young kids might end up dead. He could understand the merchants' desire to protect personal property, but he also could empathize with those kids, who reminded him of himself when he was that age.

He did not need to even think for a second about whose side he was on, however. Soul Society had harsh punishments for stealing, but they were to be enforced by the proper authorities, not ferocious mobs.

It was time to utilize a little shock and awe. "BAN-KAI!" he shouted. Zabimaru glowed with crimson energy as it transformed from a sword into a giant bone serpent.

The crowd immediately quieted. "Heh," Renji said with a smirk.

Rukongai. Byakuya hated Rukongai. The first time he had been there was when he met Hisana. After her death, he came there often, just walking the streets and looking around, remembering her and when they had first met. But right now, Byakuya wasn't there to remember Hisana. He was there to find Renji and ask him what he had done with the paperwork that had recently disappeared.

He walked along the streets, trying not to look at all the poverty around him. "Hey look, it's a shinigami captain!" Byakuya heard a voice scream, and he cringed inwardly. Great.... Byakuya didn't turn his head; instead he kept walking, trying to ignore the screams. A group of children had started to chase him. Who do they think they are?! Do they have no respect?

Byakuya suddenly turned to face the group of children, and they drew back, frightened. "A-are you gonna kill us?" One asked his eyes wide. Byakuya said nothing, instead giving them a cold glare before he turned and continued walking.

He soon came to the 78th district, where he had met Hisana. He stopped, looking around at the deserted streets. Hisana.... he closed his eyes, remembering her face, her voice, her touch. He felt a wave of sadness wash over him, and he quickly opened his eyes. No. I didn't come here to think about Hisana. I came here to get Abarai. He forced the thoughts out of his head and continued to walk, looking straight in front of him.

"Are you going to kill us?" one of the mobsters asked, eyes wide.

Renji stared. He hadn't been expecting that response, although he supposed he should have. Zabimaru could be a scary sight. "Eh? No, I just wanted to say that this matter is being handled by the Thirteen Protection Squads. Disperse!" With a thought, Zabimaru retreated into its inert form in the blade of his Zanpuktoh. He slid the blade into its scabbard.

"Hey, you kids stay there!" The kids did just that, looking absolutely terrified. Great, I save their lives and this is what I get in return. What a pain.

"Oye, ya see what kind of trouble you can get in for stuff like that?" Renji yelled. He kneeled down to face the kids at their eye level. As he did, he scanned their reiatsu. None of them would ever make it in the Thirteen Protection Squads. One of the boys might be able to qualify as a civil guard if he worked hard, but that was it.

"Now look here. I know what it's like to live on the streets. I'm going to find you some honest work. But if you steal again..."

The boys' eyes widened. "Please, sir, all we want is to eat," he whined.

Renji nodded. "Good. Run along then. I'll find you when I've found good work for you." Being a former street urchin himself, he was familiar with all the hideouts. He would find them again. The children nodded and ran as fast as their legs would carry them.

Feeling powerful reiatsu nearby, Renji turned to see his captain. "Captain!" he called out, saluting briefly. Knowing his superior's dislike of anything "common," he suspected his captain had an assignment for him.

The streets are so dirty.... Byakuya shuddered, looking at the streets covered in garbage. No one should have to live like this.... even people like that. Byakuya sighed, continuing to walk while looking around for Renji. Where is he? I feel like I've walked through this entire place. Actually, Byakuya hadn't walked very far at all; it just felt like he did. If only Abarai was more careful I wouldn't have to be here at all, he thought, convinced that Renji had done something with the papers.

He suddenly heard yelling, and walked quickly unto another street. The children that had been talking to Renji ran by him, almost knocking him down. He stepped quickly out of the way, glaring coldly after them. "They need someone to teach them respect," he muttered, shaking his head.

Byakuya turned walked up the street and saw Renji. "Abarai." He nodded to his lieutenant, giving him his usual cold look. "Have you seen the last week’s paperwork? I left it on the desk in the office and when I went in today it was gone. One of the captains needs it."

"Eh?" Renji said, scratching his head. "Oh, that paperwork. I guess I left it in my office last night."

Paperwork. Renji loved the privileges of power because it gave him the ability to protect those he cared about. The trappings of that power, however- responsibility and paperwork, were quite tiresome. He couldn't imagine dealing with it in greater quantity, and that was the main reason he had never attempted to become a full captain. When he had first made vice captain, he had procrastinated on filling out reports as long as possible. That had ended when Rukia had given him a very persuasive lesson on the duties of a vice captain. The lesson had consisted of a lecture while Rukia pummeled him mercilessly. He was now much more enthusiastic about his responsibilities as vice captain.

He was confused by Byakuya himself appearing to deliver this message. He could have sent a Hell Butterfly rather than come all this way to ask about something Renji probably wasn't carrying on his person. Perhaps the captain wished to brief him on something as they walked back to the barracks. Or maybe he wanted to make sure his vice captain didn't get into any trouble.

Either way, the case of the street urchins would have to wait. You didn't tell a Kuchiki that you would be with him or her in just a minute. He let Byakuya lead him back to headquarters.

You better have left it in your office, Byakuya thought, sighing. He didn't know what he would do if the paperwork didn't turn up. They were very important papers. And they were two day late. Byakuya hated to turn things in late. He always turned things in the day after they were given out, three days after at the most.

"I hope, for your sake, Abarai, that it's complete and well written. It better not look like something Captain Zaraki would write, or worse, that lieutenant of his." Byakuya cringed just thinking about what Kenpachi and Yachiru's paperwork looked like. How anyone could be that messy he didn't know. Didn't they care about the Soul Society? About their divisions? Paperwork was the root of the Divisions. If the captains and lieutenants didn't fill it out, things wouldn't get done, and their divisions would fall.

Byakuya walked quickly down the streets of Rukongai, toward the 6th Division, not waiting for Renji. He wanted this problem to be solved as quickly as possible to avoid further complications. It the 6th Division, the streets were almost empty, except for a few people who were taking walks, enjoying the day. I wonder where everyone is, Byakuya thought. Usually it was much busier than this. Oh well. I don't have time to worry about that now. I need to get those papers to Ryoma.

He opened the door to Renji’s office and looked around. It was much messier than his. He shook his head, wondering how anyone could find anything in here. “Where are they?” he asked impatiently. He saw some crumpled papers on the floor and frowned. “Is this it?” Byakuya seriously hoped not.

Renji gave an uneasy laugh, scratching his head as his captain surveyed the disordered room. "Heh, captain. I have no idea how it got like that. But don't worry, I know exactly where those papers are." At least Byakuya, unlike his sister, wasn't likely to hit him for this.

That didn't mean, of course, that it was a good idea to try the man's patience. For one thing, as much as he thought his captain was a hardass and needlessly uptight, Renji looked up to Byakuya Kuchiki. When his captain was disappointed with him, Renji felt disappointed as well. Of course, disdain was the most common emotion seen on Byakuya's face, so it was kind of hard to tell when he was really disappointed.

Then there was the fact that Byakuya never just let anything go. Even if Renji got away with leaving his office in disarray five times in a row, he knew the captain would let the other shoe drop whenever he felt it appropriate. And when he did so, Renji knew he was going to be wishing it was simply his sister he was dealing with, who would punch him in the head, call him an idiot, and let it go.

Renji decided that maybe he could keep himself a tad more organized. He checked the papers on the floor Byakuya had indicated. They weren't the required papers, and he let out a small sigh of relief. He darted around the room, looking. He found them lying on a futon under some other papers. Except for some small creases, the papers were in good condition. Not crumbled up like the ones from last week- which the captain had made him rewrite to teach him a lesson. He checked to make sure the papers were in the proper order and that none of them were missing, then handed him to his superior.

Looking into Byakuya's cold gaze, Renji smiled nervously and twiddled his thumbs. "Uh, if there's nothing else, Captain, I was planning on organizing my office. Someone must have let a cat in here earlier or something." He forced a small, nervous chuckle.

Byakuya sighed and shook his head when Renji denied knowing how the office got so messy. I bet he doesn't know... it's not like someone came in and messed up the place.

"I hope you know where they are," Byakuya told him, his voice slightly threatening.

He watched while Renji looked, glad they weren't the crumpled ones.

Maybe I should get a servant in here to clean this for him, Byakuya thought, glancing around. He really hated seeing something so messy. No, better not. If he always has people to clean up after him then he'll never learn to clean himself. Of course, this was easy for Byakuya to say. Byakuya, for as long as he could remember, had servants cleaning up after him. He never did anything himself, except make sure papers were neat and organized in his office. He didn't know how hard it was to clean up big messes like Renji's office.

Thank goodness, he thought, breathing a sigh of relief when Renji found the papers. He took them, glad to see they weren't messed up, and quickly looked over them. Perfect.

"All right, Abarai. You clean up. Although I doubt there was any cat in here." Byakuya looked at the papers once more, then at the messy office, and walked out.