It was finally spring. The tree gave a sigh as the winter chill ran its course and lifted its presence from the freezing branches to make way for the suns light. The flower buds sprang to life before anyone had remembered that it was the end of winter. The temperature quickly warmed up to comfortable levels and birds nested in the trees above where the leaves started to flourish. The flowers were stunning this year, so colourful and sparkling with morning dew.
For Hoshino Yuki, it was a perfect spring morning. She was walking peacefully down a cobblestone path of the Seireitei, admiring the flowers, listening to the birds sing, and letting the soft spring wind blow through her shoulder-length red-blond locks. Such a perfect spring day. Definitely one of the best in Yuki's record books. She skipped and strutted down the stone path, singing happy tunes in her head. Eventually, the song came out in a hum, then a soft whisper, and finally she sung aloud. Skipping and singing, singing and skipping, this pattern continued for what seemed like an eternity. She hopped-stepped to the tune, singing her heart out.
"Ame…Mae no hi no ame de…" Too bad she couldn't do this back in the Academy. Heck, she wasn't even allowed to roam the Seireitei until she graduated, but a little thing like authority wouldn't stop her.
She continued on her path, listening to her own tune, hoping that the birds heard someone besides themselves sing.
"…Mamorenakatta kara…" Slowly, she was aware that she had finally reached the bitter edge, the small gash in the abyss between reality and the world of dreams. Now that she was good and lost, she started to hear them again. The voices. Voices of a thousand cheering people, screaming, yelling, shouting. They were all calling her name; she could hear them like the rustle of leaves in the trees above her head.
Where? She asked herself this every time. Where were they coming from? That's when she saw bright, yet thick crimson curtains held by golden ropes. Such a beautiful colour, those curtain. Like liquid fire that cannot be touched, for it could pass through flesh, yet it would not burn. It would be more like a soothing, almost cooling sensation. She heard the call of the crowd beyond the crimson strands. A smile shone on her face as she stepped forward to face the cheering throng, throwing open the curtains while singing in her most cherished alto, "Mono de wa nai kar-AAAH!"
Her eyes fluttered as she rudely returned to reality and realized that in her daydream, she had tripped over an oversized rock. She looked ahead of her only to come face to face with a small pond. She fell face first into the pond with a loud, "Splash!!" She squirmed against her shock, and once her flailing had ceased, she took a good, hard look around her.
She had possibly made the most idiotic scene in her life. Both her academy uniform and books were soaked. Everything about her was soaked to the bone. Her curls were now in a wet, tangled mass. She looked and noticed that, besides herself, nothing was out of place. Nothing. The birds chirped their happy tune and the leaves blew gently in breeze. The flowers around the pond held such colour that one could have mistaken them to be painted on with the most dazzling and brilliant shades of red, yellow, blue and white. The world would remain in this peaceful state as long as it could, even if she did something foolish to disrupt it.
She felt a chuckle escape her lips. This was soon followed by giggling, which turned into a heart-warming laughter that rang through the trees. When her laughter had subsided, she gently wiped a stray tear from her eye from her laughing. Suddenly, a voice. "Hey, that was some show!"
The sudden appearance of another presence besides her own made Yuki squeak while jumping up in surprise, and made her slip and fall into the water once more. She struggled again and, once again, lifted herself to stare at the newcomer. How hadn't she noticed him before, it was practically impossible to miss him!
He looked to be about at least six foot two with the most beautiful blazing red hair she had ever seen adorning his head. It reminded her of the crimson curtains in her reverie. He had a look that suggested that he was a tough guy, but she knew better than to judge by the first glance. A rather odd character in her opinion, and…were those all tattoos? Good Lord, what kind of man tattoo's his body like that? He was also wearing the official black hakama of the Shinigami. This made her nervous. What if he told the professors back at the Academy that she was trespassing into the Seireitei? She gulped. "Excuse me?" she finally choked out.
The redhead grinned before replying, "That was some show there, falling into the pond. Gotta admit, I haven't seen that one yet." He seemed slightly smug as he grinned at her, showing off his Zanpaktou that rested on his hip. This bastard. Who the hell does he think he is, showing off like that? she thought, but she had to admit, she was impressed. Judging by the flow of his reiatsu, he looked to be pretty powerful.
"I thought I was the only one that came to this park, well, me and Rukia…uhh…you need some help there newbie?" he said holding out his hand to her. Yuki blinked, glanced around her as she sat in the pond. She had forgotten how she had gotten into this mess in the first place. She chuckled before accepting his hand. He pulled her up, placing his other arm on her waist to steady her in case she fell again. Then, she realized something. She turned to glare at the red-haired oaf. "What do you mean 'newbie'? I'm a senior you know! I'm graduating this year!...And don't push your luck buddy! Hand above the waist!" she barked to him.
He fell back a bit by her sudden onslaught, caught off guard, which was hard to do considering this girl was so small, maybe even smaller than Rukia. He chuckled to her, then said, "Fine, I understand. I didn't mean anything by it. What's your name, cadet?"
Yuki sighed. She knew to just let it go. She was not going to win this one. "Hoshino Yuki, Spiritual Arts Academy, last year."
He grinned. "Cool," he replied before saying, "Abarai Renji, newly appointed member of squad eleven."
Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Eleventh? God, you're pretty tame for one of those psychos, eh Renji? Or, at least, from what I've heard from some of the other students." She smiled. For some reason, she liked the way his name ran so easily off her tongue.
"Yeah, I guess, but Zaraki-taichou is pretty good to his subordinates."
"Really?" she replied. "I'm trying to think of what squad to enter when I graduate, so I might just check your squad out sometime. Who knows, eleventh could be my calling card."
"That would be cool." Renji replied. The two joined together in a chorus of laughter before the redhead spoke up again. "Hey, I know this great tea shop nearby. Wanna go get a cup?"
Yuki shrugged her shoulders before realizing something. She looked to him questioningly. "Wait," she began, "You're not going to tell on me?"
He turned to her before replying, "Hell no. Why would I do that? Were friends, right?"
For the first time in a long time, her face lit up like a firework at midnight. Friend. Renji said they were friends. The last time she had 'friends'; it ended badly, but this, this felt…right. Glancing to his tattooed face, Yuki felt that she could really trust him. She didn't know why…maybe it was his dorky smile, or his bright eyes, or his friendly personality. She couldn't tell, but she did know that this time, this friendship would be different then her last one. It would be real this time. She smiled to him before saying, "Yeah…friends."
Renji smiled back before grabbing her small wrist and yanking her in the set direction. "C'mon shrimp! At the rate we're moving, the place is gonna close!"
A vein appeared on her forehead before she barked, "HEY! I'M NOT A SHRIMP! I'M JUST…VERTICALLY CHALLANGED!"
Renji smirked before looking ahead towards their destination.
Without a retort from her newfound friend, Yuki also looked ahead, but not to the teahouse nearby, but to the future. Her future with her new friend. She had a feeling that this was going to be an exciting week, wait, scratch that, an exciting life as a Shinigami, with a squad, captain, lieutenant, and many new friends.
"Hey, I should have you meet Izuru! I think you two would be able to get along great!"
She smiled and said, "That would be great, Renji", and followed him as they walked under the sunset's peach-coloured sky.