❝You have no choice in the matter. ❞ Slate eyes narrow further. Jaw sets tight. He regarded her with annoyance. His patience quickly waning in the face of such opposition.
He shouldn't have to explain himself to someone like her. ❝Spend some time in the 11th division and they would repeat what I have said. Loss equals death. That is how they operate. While I do not normally agree with those rowdy undisciplined shinigami --- I can agree that in this case, he made his choice and failed. He chose to seek battle on his own. His price is death. If he lives, then he lives and will be discharged from the court guard. I have no time for an incompetent lieutenant. ❞
❝You are sorely mistaken if you think you can force my hand. Abarai Renji is of no concern of yours. Know your place. I will not offer a third warning. ❞
No one wanted to see Rukia alive more than he. Rukia was the only thing that remained in this world which reminded him of Hisana. His promise to her, his promise to his parents before their graves ----- they were in conflict. He was in conflict. For the first time in his life, he was conflicted as to if he should follow his duty or his heart.
Rather than face the conflict in his own heart, he doubled down. His hand resting upon the hilt of Senbonzakura. Its familiar wait a comfort. If anyone understood his heart, it was his own zanpakuto. His heart, that was fragile, far more fragile than he cared to admit. Like the very petals he used in battle, he was equally as beautiful as he was deadly and guarded.
If he even cared to tell her his reason, just like many below him, she'd not understand. It was pointless to continue on. He turns his back to her.
❝I trust you to learn the error of your ways and never speak disrespectfully to me a gain ---- me, both a captain and a noble far above the likes of you. ❞
