Author's Note;

After being persuaded by both my brothers I finally delved into the world of Bleach. If I am honest, I never imagined it would be as intense and well developed as it is. I never thought I would ever like any of the characters…

How wrong was I?

I'm completely in love with the story. I love how well developed the characters are, the depth and realism injected into each of them. I love several characters that I was so sure would grate on my nerves, Rongiku, Toshiro, even Rukia. I adore them all. And then there is Renji Abarai, I hated him so much when he was first introduced; he was a jerk through and through. But as his story was slowly revealed I fell for him so much harder than I ever expected.

He has levels, dimensions, and the kind of character fanfiction writer's dream of. And so after scouring fanfiction I discovered that there was a severe lack of stories revolving around his climb to Lieutenant of squad six. It is known that he was first in squad 5, and then transferred to squad 11, before finally reaching the rank of squad six's Lieutenant. It is also known that Aizen betrayed him along with Izuru and Hinamori. In Aizen's own words, Renji was the problem child of the three that he insisted on assigning into his squad.

So now I have my hands on Renji's basic back story… I am soooo gonna have fun with elaborating this.

To Divide and Conquer.

Part 1; Division 5 – Captain Aizen.

Chapter 1. The Problem Child.

Aizen, Captain of the Fifth Division, sat shrouded in the warm shadows cast by the small lamp at his desk. His troubled eyes flickered with the naked flame before dark lashes slid closed over them. The tense muscles in his forehead slackened a little and his chin sagged a little more heavily into the interlocked fingers that supported it. In his mind, he sorted through his thoughts, sifting aside the tedious and the unnecessary tribulations concerned with the running of a squad in the Gotei 13. The petty squabbling's between the un-seated officers were easily brushed aside, easily dealt with by a single stern word, but at this moment he had neither the patience nor desire to quell and soothe, his heart was deeply perturbed.

His focus was concentrated solely upon the shift in his ranks as Gin Ichimaru, his former Lieutenant, had now been awarded his own squad. Though it would be several months before the man was actually required to assume his new role in the Third Division, thus allowing Aizen to reshuffle his seated Officers and assign a new Lieutenant, afflicting as little disruption as possible. He was grateful for this reprieve; the disruption of promotion had thrown up a small dust cloud of rumours and apprehension and excitement amongst his newer officers. One such rumour concerned him greatly. The sudden revelation of opportunity had not gone unnoticed by a very driven young man in his lower seated officers and he had made no effort to disguise his ambition. A young man, who, Aizen lamented, could pose somewhat of a problem to those ambitions of his own.

Kira Izuru nimbly whirled aside, his kosode sleeve catching the very tip of the standard katana as he dodged the slash. His back now to his assailant and white blonde hair falling into his face over his left eye made him somewhat vulnerable to the next strike. But the young Reaper knew this, he expected the next attack to angle from his blind side, and it did. His lips crooked into a smirk, his opponent had taken the bait, they always did. Trained to exploit weaknesses and hindrances, Izuru purposely wore his hair in this way to keep control of the battle and force his enemy's hand. So as the katana blade carved down toward his throat Izuru rolled beneath the swing and ended his dodge lightly on the balls of his feet, pivoting around to face the other swordsman and bringing the flat of his blade against a shoulder and spinning to reverse their positions.

'Tch.' The tut burst from the others lips, but not in frustration, it was a noise of approval. Izuru was trying to expose him by attacking from behind, it was a clever move and yet, so very predictable. The swinging katana arm slammed down on the ground, thick fingers spread over the hilt so not to snap his knuckles as well as to spread his weight as he kicked his feet over his angled body. A sandaled heel clipped Izuru's wrist and pressed down firmly as the second young Reaper propelled his body over in his flip, landing in a crouch, once again facing Izuru, with his katana in hand.

'That was a pretty smart dodge, Izuru.' The deep guttural voice growled. The primal edge managing to obscure none of the fondness expressed in the words.

Izuru flexed his fingers around his katana's hilt gingerly and winced. 'Damn him! He hit a pressure point.' Icy flames lanced through his hand and wrist at every movement, it hurt but he could still fight.

Izuru narrowed his sharp blue eyes at his opponent's rust-red ones, despite the sharp twinges in his wrist from the kick he felt elated by the approving words the other had graced him with. The other Reaper was highly praised for his swordsmanship, his quick reflexes and hand to hand combat abilities. He held every skill deemed desirable by Division Eleven's Captain, Kenpachi Zaraki. There had even been whispers of a heated argument between the two Captains over the young man's placement, his suitability for Eleventh Division weighing against the simple fact that Aizen wanted him to remain with his comrades who were both placed with his Division.

But somehow, despite the weak and shaky argument, Aizen had still claimed him for his own Division and Zaraki had slunk away, grumbling as he did so.

And for that, Izuru was thankful to his Captain.

The other Reaper rose to his full height, stretching his back as he did so and wincing as his spine protested with a few loud pops. He was tall, much taller than almost all of the female Reapers, taller than a vast many of the males as well.

'Damn it.' He grunted cupping a hand to his shoulder and digging his fingers into the flesh there. After a minute or two, his self-massage paused and his brow knitted downwards as he flashed an accusing glare at the blonde haired man and pulled his hand from under the neckline of his kosode, noting the crimson smear across his fingertips. 'Hey, Izuru, you cut me!'

Izuru paled slightly, lifting his katana to eye level and inspecting his blade. Sure enough there was a bright red smear decorating the clean metal. He was sure that he had struck with only the flat. Guilt pooled heavily into his belly and the sight, a faint blush tinting his cheeks. 'I-I'm sorry, Renji. I thought-'

Renji carefully sheathed his katana at his hip and shrugged, his eyes closing in nonchalance. 'It's alright. Just a scratch.' They stood in comfortable silence for a moment before Renji's lashes parted again. 'What about you?'

The question caught Izuru off guard and he blinked foolishly for a moment. Sniggering lightly at his sparring partner's confusion, Renji lifted his hand and flicked his fingers at him. 'Your hand. I noticed you were struggling to hold your sword after your roll. Did you catch it on something?'

Realization seeped into his eyes and a wave of humiliation crept along his neck followed swiftly by a stab of frustration. Renji thought he had been clumsy, thought that he had injured himself. 'No! You stomped on it!'

'Huh? I did?' Renji frowned, his once red eyebrows tugging down in contemplation.

Izuru scowled at him. 'As you pulled that idiotic flip. You used my wrist as a vaulting block, you great brute.' Despite the red flush on his cheeks, Izuru hadn't really the heart to actually hold a grudge or really be angry with his friend. Especially when the red-head's lips curved into that boyish smirk of his, reminding Izuru just how young his friend actually was.

'I thought it looked kinda cool. Like all ninja style.'

Izuru shook his head once as an exasperated chuckle escaped his lips. 'How did you ever become a seated officer straight out of the Academy?' He sheathed his own katana with grace and then circled his injured wrist, gasping slightly at the ache lancing along his forearm.

Renji shrugged, folding his arms behind his head and tilted his chin away from his friend. 'I'm one of the lowest seats though. Hardly high enough in the pecking order for my liking.' His boyish smile had vanished underneath the usual serious frown that he wore.

Izuru was surprised to see the tense working of Renji's jaw as he seemed to gnaw the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. The blonde Reaper didn't like it when his boisterous and playful friend suddenly slipped into one of his sullen moods, they were unpredictable and he couldn't understand why the switch would flip so quickly. Those rust coloured eyes would mist over and the wide shoulders would snap tight, and his reiatsu would flare up suddenly, rolling from his body in thick palpable waves.

'I hate to ask, Renji, but where do you…'

Izuru flinched as the darkened eyes turned to hold his timid gaze, a broad hand wrapping around the hilt of his sealed Zanpakutou, his wordless conformation made Izuru's spine snap taunt. 'But that's impossible. You're not skilled enough for that spot yet.' He flinched under the flash of fury that crossed Renji's face, the curl of his lip forced him back a step.

'Not skilled enough?' The words were hurled at him with a snarl that made his skin crawl.

'You haven't even figured out how to release your Zanpakutou's true form yet.' Izuru protested. 'There is no way that you'd ever make Lieutenant with a sealed sword.'

Izuru's eyes snapped wide as Renji's katana swept toward his body, the sharp cutting edge angled toward pale flesh as if this were a true battle now, their friendly sparring forgotten in Renji's sudden flare of temper. Izuru panicked and ducked the swing; he hadn't even seen his sparring partner draw his blade until it had almost cut him. Rolling behind Renji, the blonde man slammed his palms to the ground with enough force to propel him to his feet and turn, his hands gripping his katana's hilt securely as he swung up to block.

The jolt jarred through his sword, pain flared from his already injured wrist but Izuru ground his teeth together in determination and pushed back with both blade and his reiatsu. The sudden push and flare startled the red head that bore down on him and forced him to pull back.

'If you know how to do it, Izuru,' Renji sneered as his feet skimmed the dirt in a retreating skid. 'Then show me! Help me learn to release it.'

'Are you insane, Abarai?' Izuru hollered, lowering his katana. 'You don't draw your sword edge on a comrade with the intent to use it!'

Renji's eyes narrowed at the raised voice of his friend and opponent, he lowered his head between his broad shoulders and rocked up on his toes, readying himself for the rush. 'Oh, I intend to use it.' One foot slid backward, spreading his weight.

Izuru watched him warily, despite his larger size Renji was fast. Easily fast enough to land a hit and dodge retaliation if he let his focus waver for even a second. For several long moments both Soul Reapers simply scowled and tensed, bravado and unspoken threats exchanged with just a narrowing of their eyes.

And then Renji roared. Flying forward, katana held in both hands and jutting from hip height, he swung at Izuru with his full strength. Steel on steel screamed as the blades dragged along each other's length, ringing softly when they finally parted. Izuru grunted as the jarring impact reignited the agony in his injured wrist but he didn't have time to dwell on it, pivoting around he swept upwards to block Renji's vicious down stroke.

'Stop this, Renji!' He grated, his voice straining under the effort of holding the larger Soul Reaper back, and struggling against the sudden explosion in opposing reiatsu. 'This is not the way to achieve your Zanpakutou's Shikai, and you know it!' Digging his heels into the earth, Izuru hurled his body forward and tried furiously to force the other back. Then he swallowed an agonized whimper as Renji's broad hand crashed down upon his wounded wrist and dug his fingers in, gaining purchase and whirling them both around so that Izuru's back slammed up against the wall that ran the boundaries of the training grounds.

Renji threw his body forwards until his face dominated Izuru's vision, his hand still crushing the slender Reaper's wrist. 'I have to get stronger.' Renji groaned, the hurt in his eyes flashed through the primal gleam. Izuru watched the shifting shadows of his friend's face, emotion contorted his features. 'I can't keep losing them.'

Casting his blue eyes down to the katana pressed flat to his chest, Izuru felt his lids snap wider in surprise. Renji's blade gleamed and rippled, lifting his gaze to hold the stormy eyes of the larger Reaper he gasped. Reiatsu rolled around him, coiling and crushing and suffocating. Had he imagined the contortion of Renji's Zanpakutou?

'You can't keep chasing after her.'

Renji's eyes flashed, a dark warning edging into the bright disks that usually held so much charm and mischief, loyalty and strength, and it unnerved the blonde man. 'You can't keep tormenting yourself like this.' Izuru saw a slight shift in Renji's focus, his sudden burst of rage slipping back behind its mask. Carefully, Izuru raised his hand; the one Renji wasn't crushing, and covered his friend's wide fingers with his own. 'You have to now look at what's the best path for you, not anyone else. You must cut your own path now, she's made hers, and they no longer face the same destination.'

Izuru felt Renji move. He saw the palm slam into his chest and Renji's face had vanished from his immediate proximity. And then the pain raged. Izuru dropped to his knees, fingers pressing to his chest in surprise. Another flare in Renji's reiatsu and it crushed him further against the ground, this time, he was positive that he saw the steel of the other katana warp. Renji was trying to force the release of his swords Shikai with his unstable energy.

Renji's knuckles bleached white under the strain of his grip, his wrist locking in preparation for the lunge that he knew was coming. His focus shifted briefly away from watching the fallen Izuru, lifting his blade and crossing it over his chest as he swung around into a block, protecting himself from the Zanpakutou of-

'Momo?'

Momo Hinamori scowled darkly at Renji's confusion, her sword pressing his down toward the earth harmlessly. 'That's enough, Renji. Stand down!'

She was tiny, dwarfed by Renji's large form, delicate and soft, like a rose, and yet she was strong and able to pin his blade with ease. Even when Renji struggled to haul his blade free, his challenge obvious in his scowl, Momo still held his gaze; her warning rang clear in her eyes.

'Stand down, Renji!'

Part one, chapter one complete. Hopefully drumming up some interest.