Week reset, give me stones!!

Goal top 10!

***

"..."

"Captain!" Renji shouted in concern, his eyes darted back and forth between his captain and the boy with flaming hair and countless weapons around him.

Byakuya remained calm despite his shock. His experience of living more than a hundred of years had taught him to control his emotions.

"I will admit that you have surprised me. Not only that, you have forced me to use my Bankai." He said, "However, this battle is over. I don't intend to fight someone unrelated to this matter any longer, so we will retreat as long as Rukia agrees to go with us."

"Do you think she will agree? She was trying to escape, you know?" Shirou retorted sarcastically. He was tired, but he wouldn't let it show to his enemies, "She was running away. I think that means she doesn't agree to return."

"Don't make a decision for me, human! And don't talk to my brother like that. You're not worthy enough to say anything to him!"

Suddenly, Rukia bellowed loudly.

Hearing that shout, Shirou looked at her with eyes widened in disbelief.

What did she just say? That was not something he expected.

"Are you stupid?!" He asked in surprise, not expecting her to side with them.

He couldn't help it. The words just came out.

Rukia glared at him, her eyes hid pain and worry.

"What do you mean, human?! And stop being rude to my brother! I am not someone who he can talk to without respect." She barked and then turned to her brother. "I apologize, Brother. But yes, I agree to go with you. I will come back to Soul Society and I accept all my sins and punishments"

She then looked back at Shirou and scowled.

"And you, stop being so annoying! I don't even ask you for help. Why did you have to bother with our matters anyway?" Rukia said angrily. "Just leave already."

"Hey, you-"

"Very well." Byakuya interrupted, his blade returned to normal.

He had dismissed his Bankai, seeing no reason to fight any longer.

"You've heard her, Quincy. Her punishment can get worse or better depending on your decision. We will also stop pursuing your brother. Cease this technique immediately, and we'll pretend this battle never happens. Otherwise..."

Shirou grunted in frustration. He could've continued and won if he gave his all, but the one he tried to save refused his help.

It was a bitter experience. To protect those who refused his help meant he would return to that, to the past that he wanted to change.

Was it the correct decision?

'What... should I do?'

The Shinigami Captain said Rukia's punishment could be better depending on his actions. He couldn't risk it, knowing that there were 13 Captains with similar strength or stronger than Kuchiki Byakuya.

He could fight them one-on-one, or two of them. But, if he was surrounded by all of them... He didn't think he could win.

Even if he could fight all of them and win, what about the aftereffect? What if his family got targeted?

Unlimited Blade Works was a powerful ability, but it was a double-edged sword. Shirou couldn't handle its power for a long duration, he would die from exhaustion. He could draw Reishi from the atmosphere, but even that was limited inside the reality marble.

'But, if I stop, will they really keep their promise?' He wondered, trying to find an answer, 'Damn, I am not a negotiator like Tohsaka. What can I say to ensure their promise is true.'

His brain worked to think for a solution, and then he looked at the petite raven-haired girl. The only thing he knew was to ask directly.

"Do you really want to return to Soul Society?"

"Yes." She replied in affirmation. "And don't ever think of following me or I'll never forgive you even if you're Ichigo's brother."

He wanted to sigh but stopped. There's nothing he could do to help. Not when she herself refused the help he offered, not when the other side already prepared for an all out war.

Shirou closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, his fist tightened in frustration, before saying, "... Fine."

With a command, he deactivated his reality marble. He heaved a deep breath, the pain from exhaustion slowly seeping in.

Seeing that, Byakuya turned his back and commanded Renji to open the gate back to the Soul Society.

The red-haired lieutenant opened the gate and went first, followed closely by Byakuya, leaving Rukia alone with Shirou.

The short raven-haired girl walked to the gate, leaving him alone.

But, she suddenly stopped before she took the final step, turning her head over her shoulder.

"...Thank you."

Then she continued walking.

Shirou couldn't say anything and watched the girl disappear with the closing gate.

He stood there watching while clenching his fists. Blood trickled down from the wound he got from the blade petal.

The cold wind didn't help to ease the pain at all.

Or the irritating voice that suddenly appeared from behind.

"My, Shirou-kun. You look like you could see a better day."

Turning around, Shirou found Urahara walking to him while fanning himself, a smile plastered on his face.

Always late, like usual.

Next to him was Yoruichi in human form, who was staring at him in amazement.

"You've surprised me, kid." Yoruichi said as he approached.

"Even with a half-baked strength, you could fight a Captain-level Shinigami. I can't see what happened at the last minute but I assume it was quite spectacular from how you're looking right now."

She gave him a worried glance, noticing his state, "You should get treated. Your wounds might not be dangerous but I bet it's not something to scoff at."

"You heard her, Shirou-kun." Urahara added, patting his shoulder. The shopkeeper's expression turned serious as he continued, "Being able to fight Kuchiki Byakuya is already impressive. You shouldn't blame yourself for not winning, since you're still improving."

"That doesn't really cheer me up." Shirou said dryly, rubbing his neck. "Thanks but this time, I'll have to decline. I am not in the mood to talk right now, Urahara-san."

He wanted to be left alone right now.

Nothing Urahara or Yoruichi said to him would cheer him up. He was still lost in his feelings. A feeling of a failure, of his weakness.

He should've trained harder. He always had to.

"Are you sure?" Urahara asked in concern. He could see Shirou was not okay. "It's not a problem for me to help you."

Shaking his head, Shirou smiled wryly, "It's alright. Thanks for your offer."

With that, he bowed toward both of them and left. His feet felt heavy and his head was dizzy, but he managed to walk to his home without falling down. Urahara watched his retreating figure and sighed, looking at Yoruichi who was also looking at Shirou with a complicated look.

"What's your plan, Kisuke?"

"Well, it's a bit unexpected that Shirou-kun can force Captain Kuchiki to use his Bankai. Not to mention, that last technique. It's so interesting." He answered. "But I guess the only thing we can do is wait for the moment to come. I am 100% sure Kuchiki Rukia will be executed. It's been planned that way."

The feline lady shook her head, her golden eyes gleaming under the moonlight, "This is not what we talked about. I mean about Shirou."

"Don't worry too much about him. He's stronger than you think. But I'll admit I am surprised as well. For someone his age to have power at that level, he's definitely a genius." He looked at Yoruichi and smiled mischievously, "He only fought in a world of living right now. Imagine if he fight in Soul Society where Reishi is abundant and strong, he could-"

"Don't even think about it, Kisuke." She said, glaring at him.

Urahara raised his arms in surrender, "Alright, alright. I was just kidding, my Lady."

The golden-eyed beauty rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"You and your bad jokes." She snorted under her breath.

***

Back at his home, Shirou walked toward his room without saying a word to anyone. His eyes looked weary and disappointed.

Not toward Rukia or the Shinigamis, but himself. His changed ideal had allowed him to give up this time.

Before, he wouldn't care if his body got broken, he would never give up and always continued to fight to save people, even if the people themselves didn't want it. He didn't think twice about it, because his dream told him to.

But now, the boy knew how foolish his ideal had been. It didn't mean that he regretted what he had done in his past.

He grew to realize the value of life, and he didn't want to throw away his own life that easily, not anymore.

'If it was me before, I wouldn't have thought about the consequence of my own death and just continued to fight.' He mused. His fist clenched tightly as the thought of Archer's annoying grin appeared in his mind, 'That's why you and Tohsaka always called me an idiot.'

On the bright note, he managed to call his reality marble using his new power this time. It responded to him, and all swords he inherited from Archer's experience were present.

Everything, from the weakest Noble Phantasm to the one that his partner had before.

"I might be able to win if I use Excalibur, but that will destroy the surrounding. I can't involve civilians in that fight." He muttered, then he quickly shook his head.

No need to think about the past. While he failed at stopping Rukia, he managed to save his brother from both Shinigami. That was a big achievement in itself, so he shouldn't think negatively about it.

Creeaak-

At that moment, the door of his room creaked open and the light turned on. He couldn't help but groan in frustration.

"Hahaha, you look terrible, my son!"

***Chapter***

What a coward, they ran away!

And here, I tried to show the change in Shirou's ideal. In a normal state, Heroes of Justice, he would stop them without thinking about the price.

But here, he actually let them go so Rukia won't be punished harder! He hoped.

Also, the week is reset, so give me stones! Target: top 10 of the week!