I do not own bleach but i have made up several of the newer characters. So I hope that you enjoy

Renji stared at the group of children running around the playground. Screams and yells, shouts and battle cries echoed through his head. It reminded him of a new recruit training ground. Sakura the eldest Kurosaki was chasing around her younger brother with a stick, while Sora Ishida was wailing because had he slid of the teeter totter and onto the mulch.

Renji put his hands against his ears, their screams were too much. Not even a year's worth of the Head Capitan's salary was worth this. He was about to give up, pop out of his gigai, and shunpo back to Urahara's shop when Rukia's face bubbled to the surface of his mind. If he left her children alone in park without supervision, she would certainly kill him. Renji sighed and thought back to how he had been conned into babysitting the little hellions all at once.

Uryu and Orihime were a social couple, almost every weekend they were hosting some kind of party or festivity, and this weekend wasn't any different. Only this weekend Ichigo had to lend as much of a hand as Uryu did. This weekend Ishida was hosting a party for the hospital where he and Ichigo worked, so both of their presences were needed during the preparation, set up, and actual party.

Rukia, refusing to be left out of any festivity where she could decorate something, had dumped all three of her children on her unsuspecting, freeloading, and lazing guest. "I'm supposed to be on vacation," Renji had objected.

"Renji you aren't on vacation, I told brother that this Gala was coming up and I needed some help around the house, so he sent you on the pretense of giving you a vacation," Rukia said while trying to find a bakery online that would make a large four foot tall Chappy cake.

"Figures, I wondered why he was so lenient with the idea of not having a Vice Capitan for a week and a half," Renji muttered.

"It's not like you do anything anyways Renji," Rukia said as she clicked and pecked the computer keys.

"I do plenty."

"Such as?" she asked, poking her head around the computer monitor to look at him.

"I make sure the recruits are trained, I attend meetings, I keep the barracks in order, the men in line, and I do paperwork…." He trailed off a little at the end.

"Renji if you did all that then I'm sure you would actually be a little more valuable to brother."

"Uncle Renji push me!" yelled Sakura. She was sitting on the swing her dark brown hair was pulled up in a long pink ribbon that matched her dress.

"No Uncle Renji's going to go with me down the slide!" yelled Ichiru.

"No he's going to push me first!" yelled Sakura.

"Hey, hey stop fighting, I'll take care of you both." Renji said.

"Come now Shinigami put away your foolish toys, you and I must do battle!" a voice yelled. Renji, Sakura, and Ichiru looked up and saw a tall, lanky, blond boy standing at the top of the slide staring down at them. "I am a Visord! You are my enemy let us duel!" the boy took a fighting stance readying himself for a battle.

Suddenly he was kicked from behind and face planted right into the slide. A young blond girl stood where in the boy's place, her arms crossed over her chest, a scowl on her face. "Stop trying to be impressive you idiot you're just a mini-Visord. Mom and dad said you won't be able to take on a Shinigami until we get a hold of our powers."

"Himawari! How could you! I'm your older brother you shouldn't be bullying me!" he yelled holding his bloodied nose.

"Shut up Ritsu you're such a moron!" she said. The girl jumped down from the top of the slide and landed as graceful as a cat on the ground. She glanced once at Renji and then ran to the swings where Sakura was sitting.

"Himawari you're such a bully," cried the boy running after her having forgotten his duel with Renji for the moment.

Renji shook his head and went back to Ichiru, who had wrapped his arms around his neck and was dangling down his back. "Come on Uncle Renji shunpo!" he yelled.

"Not now kid I have to rest!" he peeled Ichiru from his shoulders and set him down. "Go bother Sakura for a while and then we can play. I need a break." Ichiru nodded and ran towards the swings. Renji collapsed on the ground, he had just begun to realize how exhausting babysitting really was. He closed his eyes and laid down hoping to get a moments rest.

He was about to fall asleep when a sudden screeching came from the swings. "Eww go away! You have cooties!" screamed Sakura as she ran past Renji.

"Sakura!" Ritsu ran after her trying to persuade her that he did not have cooties.

The blonde girl, Himawari, ran after the other two laughing. "He does Sakura they come out of his nose and ears when he sleeps I've seen them!"

Ichiru ran after the group laughing hysterically. "You're gonna get cooties Sakura! There's gonna be little Sakura bugs!"

Renji watched the four run off into the distance, he rolled his eyes and then turned to look at the sandbox, which he was laying next to. Yoshiko, Chad's son and Yuki sat together, having stopped their actions to watch the commotion. Yuki was staring at the place where her sister had run away to, the shovel in her hand paused mid air, while Yoshiko held the small plastic bucket that Yuki had been filling.

"What are you two doing?" Renji asked. Instead of speaking Yuki took her shovel, filled it with sand, and then deposited the sand into the bucket. She looked at Renji, her actions had done the speaking for her. He looked at the two children, it was obvious that they were building something, but what he couldn't tell. "What are you making?"

"Repentance Tower," said Yuki.

Renji raised a questioning eyebrow, "Where did you get the idea to build that?"

"Dad's stories," Yuki said. Yoshiko took the now full bucket, turned it over and placed it upside down on the sand. He held it there for several moments and then pulled the bucket upwards creating a sand tower.

"Story?" he asked.

"Dad always tell stories about how he save momma from the Sokyoku, and about how they fell in love," Yuki said. Yoshiko was once again holding the plastic bucket in front of Yuki as she began to shovel sand.

"Ehh those stories are totally bogus, I saved your momma from the Sokyoku, and from Aizen, and from Byakuya," Renji said.

"Dad said that you just got your butt handed to you and wasted time being a distraction."

Renji's face fell, "Well your father doesn't always tell things the way that they should be told. He likes to exaggerate."

"What does…exaggerate mean?" asked Yoshiko.

Renji opened his mouth to explain but Yuki cut him off, "You know, when something is way too much."

"Like when Ichigo makes himself seem more important than he is," Renji muttered. Both children looked up at him with blank stares. "Never mind," he said. They looked at each other, Yoshiko shrugged and they both continued their task.

Renji leaned his back against the sandbox so that he wasn't facing the kids anymore. It was quite now that the older ones were occupied somewhere else, and no one seemed to have wandered into the park while Uryu and Orihime's party was going on. Renji yawned, stretched his legs out and closed his eyes, he tried to convince himself that it would only be for a minute, then he would start looking for the four menaces that had taken off.

"Lieutenant Abarai I suggest that you wake up," said a soft voice from above him. Renji's eyes popped open, he looked up and stared right into the sun, cursing he shielded his eyes and let them adjust as he tried to figure out who was in front of him.

"Ne…Nemu?" Renji stuttered. The woman before him wore a red summer dress and a jean half jacket, her long hair was braided and hanging over her left shoulder. He stared up at her, Nemu looked like a human standing in the middle of the park on a warm summer day.

"Yes Lieutenant Abarai?"

"Wha….what….why are you here?" he asked. He had never seen her outside of the Soul Society before, she looked different standing there, almost like…..like.

"I am here on business for Mayuri-sama," she said she raised her hand above her eyes to block out the strong sun.

"Mayuri?...You mean Capitan Kurotsuchi?"

Nemu looked down at him and gave a slight nod. "Yes Lieutenant Abarai."

"What business does he have in the human world?"

Nemu looked away from him and over to the two children. Renji glanced over, Yoshiko and Yuki were now sitting in the middle of a mini-Seireitei. Realizing her implication he instantly got to his feet ready to defend them from the 12th squads Lieutenant.

"You don't have to be alarmed Lieutenant Abarai I have only come to observe them in their natural habitat," she said.

Renji stared at her still not trusting her motives. "Lieutenant Abarai, Mayuri-sama understands that the Human Shinigami children of Rukia and Ichigo Kurosaki are off limits to his experiments and advancements. However he still wishes to collect sufficient data on them, as well as their subsequent fellows. Mayuri-sama wants to understand their movements, lifestyle, spiritual pressure, and training."

Renji stared at her almost dumbfounded, after a few seconds he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Well I mean as long as you're not interfering with them I don't see why there would be an issue."

"Thank you Lieutenant Abarai," Nemu said. She turned away from him and began pulling things out of a large red bag. Renji didn't recognize any of the things that Nemu was pulling out of her bag, save the large video camera, that looked as if it was from the human world. She set it up on a tripod and pointed it at Yuki and Yoshiko. Renji glanced over to see if the two children had noticed Nemu or not.

Yuki was oblivious, still sitting in the middle of the sand city chewing her bottom lip trying to figure out what part of her private Seireitei she wanted to build next. Yoshiko, however, was staring right at Nemu as she unpacked her belongings. The large boy was watching her every move carefully, every slip of the hand, every flick of her wrist, every turn of her head. He was suspicious of this woman and made no attempt to hide it.

Finally finished Nemu turned around and looked once through the video camera, she focused slightly and then pressed a small red button, the video camera made a loud beeping noise and then was silent. Nemu crouched down next to the tripod camera, notebook in her lap, and stared at the two children intently.

Renji stared at Nemu then glanced back to the kids. Yuki was still completely oblivious to the woman's presence, but Yoshiko was staring right back at Nemu almost as intently as she was watching him. Neither moved a muscle, Renji glanced between the two a couple times then shrugged a shoulder and resumed his laid back position.

He had closed his eyes once more and was about to drift off to sleep when Nemu's voice interrupted him. "Lieutenant Abarai," Renji opened one eye, Nemu still crouched down with her notebook seemed to have not moved. "Tell me, does the male human always do what the young Human Shinigami female commands?"

Renji looked at the two kids, "Well yeah I guess."

"What is the reason for this?"

Renji turned his head, "I'm not sure…"

"How old is the female at this point Lieutenant Abarai?"

Renji rubbed the back of his head thinking, "I dunno, I mean I guess four."

"And the male human?"

"Ummm around eight maybe."

"I see, interesting even at such a young age it seems that the male has unconsciously chosen the female as his potential mate," Nemu said she began writing quick notes in her book without looking away from the two children.

"It's not like that!" Renji looked at Yuki and Yoshiko playing in the sandbox, the thought of those two being….. "They're just friends, they've been raised together and have a bond between them like Ishida says it's plectonic….platinuamonic…..plentitatonic….ah hell I don't know the word for it, they're just friends!"

Nemu glanced at him quickly, "I believe the human word you are looking for Lieutenant Abarai is plutonic."

"Yeah that's it! Hey how did you know that?"

"Mayuri-sama had me study the modern human language and all the scientific terms before I was stationed here," she explained as she wrote again in her notebook. Yoshiko had not stopped staring at her and she was making note of it.

"How long did your Capitan station you here Nemu?"

"I have been assigned to watch over the children for the next three weeks," she said.

"Where are you staying?"

She looked up at him blankly, "Staying? You mean where am I residing during my time here?"

"Uh…yeah."

She looked back at Yuki and Yoshiko, "I have not yet found suitable lodging, but I have been trained in the technological networks of the human world, I assume that I will be able to find a suitable housing contract easy enough."

Once again Renji stared at her dumbfounded, "Well that's….uh….good I'm sure that you will find a place that's right."

She glanced over at him once more. Then she said no more to him.

They remained like that almost another hour before Yuki noticed Nemu, she didn't react, she just stared at her and shook her head. She said something to Yoshiko and then continued to build her city. Finally Ichigo and Rukia called the group back and it was time to go.

Renji stayed for a few more minutes after Yuki and Yoshiko had left, "Nemu are you going to be okay here?"

"I will be fine Lieutenant , I have been trained to deal with situations of this type, as well as how to blend in to Human society." She zipped up the bag with her equipment and then stood to face him. "Your concern is not necessary," she said, she gave him a quick fake smile, and then turned and left. "Goodbye Lieutenant I am sure I will see you again."

Renji, however, did not see Nemu for the entire rest of his vacation. He didn't know if it was because she had become more acclimated to hidings and observing or if she had just not decided to stay. He wondered, one night, why it was the Mayuri would send Nemu to immerse herself into human life to watch the Shinigami Human children. But before he could think anymore about Nemu's presence he had fallen asleep and forgot the entire incident.

Weeks later he found himself thinking once more about Nemu. He was sitting in his office, having just finished all his weekly paperwork when he suddenly, and very randomly, thought of her. Looking around and not seeing his own Capitan he decided that he wanted out of the office. In seconds he was standing before the 12th Division barracks.

He entered and was greeted by a very boring looking office. There was only one person in the office, sitting behind a small desk, doing paperwork. She was a young woman who looked to be about four feet tall. Her hair was black, save her blue streaked bangs, and in the corner of her left lip there was a silver hoop.

He cleared his throat trying to gain her attention, she didn't look up or acknowledge his presence. He cleared his throat again, "All requests need to go to the seventh seat and will be processed in due time. If you are here to request an audience with the Capitan or Vice Capitan then there is a thirty week waiting period."

"Um..actually I was wondering if the Vice Capitan had returned from the Human world?"

"For an audience with the Vice Capitan there is a thirty week waiting period," the girl said without looking up from her paperwork.

"I get that, I don't want to see her I just want to know if she's back from the Human world."

"If you want to see the Vice Capitan…"

"I don't want to see her I just want to know if she's back from the human world or not!"

The girl looked up with a glare, but when she realized who he was she stopped, "Vice Caaaaptian Abarai…."

"Just tell me if the Vice Capitan came back from the Human world safe or not?"

"She did sir….she…she came back a few days ago…" the young woman stuttered. "You….would…you like me to go and find her?"

Renji shook his head, "Naw never mind it all now, I'll see her in a few weeks at the Lieutenants meeting."

"Ye…ye…yes sir are you sure?"

Renji nodded then turned back to the girl, he gave her a glare wanting to tell her off, but the fear in her eyes put him off. "Keep up your work," he said then disappeared.

There was buzzing sound interrupting his dream, his wonderful, amazing, dream of the Women's Shinigami Association, minus Yachiru, on the beach. Renji cracked one of his eyes, he was staring at a large flat screen version of Chappy the Rabbit. Renji blinked twice trying to register what was going on, then it all came rushing back to him. He was at Rukia and Ichigo's house, no wonder Chappy was on, Rukia probably programmed the television to turn on to Chappy at certain time every morning. Renji saluted Ichigo, if his wife ever made him watch Chappy the Rabbit at any time the marriage wouldn't last long.

Renji sat up and stretched his limbs, they were numb and sore from having fallen asleep on the couch, it was the second night he had done it. Not because Ichigo and Rukia had left him without a bed, but because he liked watching late night television from the human world, there was always something interesting on.

Suddenly the buzzing was back, and it was even louder this time. Renji looked down and saw the cell phone sitting on the glass table in front of the couch. He reached and grabbed it, Rukia's name popped up in green letters. He stared at the phone, they had cell phone type instruments in the Seireitei but nothing like these human devices, the damn things were overly complicated. He stared at it for several more seconds and then it stopped buzzing.

"Why'd you wanna wake me up so early" he yawned and then laid back down intending to go back to sleep until late in the morning. He had only been asleep for several minutes when a sudden shrike jolted him.

"UNCLE RENJI!"

He sat up and was up the stairs and at her bedroom door in an instant ready for battle, "What! What's going on!" He looked around the room for trouble but saw nothing but a messy bed and a pile of clothes on the floor. "Yuki? Yuki where are you?"

Suddenly a pair of red shorts came flying out of the closet and landed in the middle of the room with the rest of the pile. "I'm in here! Why didn't you wake me up!" her voice was muffled.

"Why did I have to, it's summer time you don't have school," he yawned again and leaned against the doorframe.

"I have Day Camp! Momma enrolled me! I have to be there in fifteen minutes!" Yuki stumbled out of her closet pulling on a green sandal while holding the other in her mouth. "We….have…..to…go…..now…." she mumbled.

"But we haven't had breakfast. What do you usually have before day camp?"

"Dad usually just gives me cereal before he goes to work," she said struggling to put the other sandal on.

"Cereal, nonsense I Renji Abarai will not allow you to….."

"Uncle Renji we don't have time for this! We have to get to camp!" Yuki pulled a blue dress over her head then grabbed a brush trying to tame the wild hair she had inherited from her mother. She rushed into the bathroom and tried to finish getting ready.

Renji smiled, Yuki reminded him of Rukia, when they were younger and had been growing up in Rukon Rukia had always hated her bangs. She struggled with it day in and day out until she finally gave up all together and became a tomboy.

Renji made his way over to her and set his large hand on her small head. "Don't, it makes you look like your mom."

Yuki looked at him, her violet eyes large as tea cups, she stared back at her reflection in the mirror. At nine she looked almost exactly like her mother, dark hair, big violet eyes, and that one stubborn bang. "Yeah" she sighed.

Renji stared down at her, he heard the tone of her voice. "What's the matter?"

She stared at her reflection for several more moments and then shook her head, she looked up at him. "Nothing," she said with a smile then she continued with her morning regimen.

Renji watched her as she brushed her teeth and washed her face. He knew her smile had been a fake, he knew that something was bothering her, and he didn't know what he was supposed to do. Rukia and Ichigo had been summoned to the Seireitei two days ago, they had taken Ichiru with them and Sakura had gone with Ryoko Ishida to Hokkaido to visit the elder Quincy.

He was supposed to be watching Yuki for the entire week but it was proving difficult, Yuki wasn't like the rest of her family. Ichiru had inherited his father's stubborn scowl and his mother's rambunctious personality and Sakura had taken on Rukia's abrasive tomboyish attitude, but Yuki was still as quiet and introverted as she had been at 4. She didn't like to express her feelings nor did she like to show them to anyone. If she didn't look exactly like Rukia Renji would have wondered about the true identity of her parents.

"Uncle Renji could you help me?" called Yuki from the bathroom.

Renji turned back to look at her and watched as Yuki struggled to place a cherry blossom hair ornament in her hair. "Did the Capitan give this to you?" he asked as he plucked the ornament from her hands and began to tedious task of placing it.

"Yes Uncle Byakuya sent it back with momma last time they went for a visit," she told him.

"It's very nice," he said struggling with the delicate item.

"Yeah…." She watched as he tried to fix the ornament into her hair. "He gave Sakura a pink kimono." Renji looked down at her, "And he let Ichiru stay with him for a whole month in the Kuchiki Mansion."

"Yuki?"

"Uncle Byakuya doesn't like me very much," she said. It was a statement, a fact, something that was to be undisputed.

Renji looked down at the young girl, though to anyone else it would have looked like she was going to cry, he knew she wasn't. She looked up at Renji and gave him a small smile. "Don't worry Uncle I don't have to wear it," she took it from his fingers and placed it back in the small silver box on the vanity. She looked in the mirror and ran her fingers through her short hair and sighed, then smiled and turned around. "I'm ready."

Renji held the umbrella over Yuki's head as she walked down the street. He had offered to change into his Shinigami form and Shunpo to her Day Camp but she had refused, so they had walked, in the rain. He kept glancing down at her every few seconds, he couldn't understand what she had meant when she had spoken about the Capitan not liking her. Never in all his years with the Kuchiki Clean Leader had he ever seen anything that indicated that Byakuya didn't like any of Rukia's children. He had always shown them nothing but kindness and affection, well as much as he showed affection.

Yuki hadn't said a word since her confession, only a two syllable answer here and there. Renji looked down at her again trying to figure out any reason why the Capitan wouldn't like her, to him there wasn't one. She was more reserved than her siblings, something that the Capitan approved of, she was courteous and kind, she was smart and sometimes she could be funny, as funny as a nine year old could be. He couldn't see any reason for Capitan Kuchiki not to like his niece.

"Uncle Renji?" asked Yuki. Renji stopped and looked around, Yuki wasn't next to him anymore. "Uncle Renji!" her voice yelled from behind him. He turned around and saw her standing at the gates of a building. "It's here Uncle Renji."

Renji backtracked to where she was standing, a look of utter embarrassment on his face. Yuki turned around and looked at her Uncle. "You have to come back and get me at 3:00 pm. Right on the dot or else!" She stared at him with her demanding amethyst eyes in the same way her mother used to stare at him when they were children.

He smiled internally and then just to bother her he turned his head away and nonchalantly said "Yeah, yeah I'll be here."

"Don't forget Renji, if you do I'll tell momma" then she turned around and walked across the courtyard to the stone building.

Renji made sure that she had entered the building safely and then began walking, even though he understood Ichigo and Rukia's need to have Yuki go to Day Camp he didn't like it. It made his days boring, he was supposed to be watching the kid but half of the time there was no kid to be watching. He shoved his hand into his pocket, the other holding onto the umbrella.

He turned around and headed back in the direction of the house; he still couldn't figure out what Yuki had meant about the Capitan, none of it made sense. If the Capitan really didn't like her he wouldn't have given her any gifts at all.

Suddenly he knocked right into someone, catching himself and regaining his balance he looked down at the woman he had knocked over. "Oh sorry Orihime I didn't see you there."

Orihime stumbled to get up, "It's alright Renji." She stood up with a bright smile holding her umbrella over her head.

"Hey you oaf!" yelled a voice from behind Orihime's skirt."You knock my mother down and don't even offer to help her up!" Renji looked down and saw a young girl with the same long red hair as standing behind Orihime's skirt. She had on a white dress with a blue cross pattern on the front, a blue backpack, and a pair of dark blue rain boots. As Renji looked closer he also noted that she had Uryu's eyes and long nose, as well a pair of almost identical trademark glasses.

Renji stared at the little Quincy girl, she had grown since the last time he had seen her, she was taller than Yuki and had a meaner look about her.

"Rei!" gasped Orihime, shocked by her daughters comment. "Renji I'm sorry Rei isn't in the best of moods right now, we are late for Day Camp."

"It's okay I understand Yuki wasn't too happy that we were late too," Renji said.

"We are late because my father needed my assistance, I'm sure Yuki was late due to incompetence," Rei muttered the last part of her sentence but both adults heard her.

Orihime looked at Renji with an embarrassed apologetic face, she didn't want her daughter insulting Renji but she was also too soft of a mother to punish her for her words. Renji smiled at Orihime and then bent down to Rei's height. "Now now little Quincy you shouldn't insult me like that I'm a Vice Capitan in the 13 Court Guards."

Rei stared at him with a blank look, then she turned away and muttered, "they must have lowered their standards."

Renji scowled taken aback by the child's comment; "Rei! I'm so sorry Renji she doesn't know what she's saying!"

"Yes I do mother!"

"It's alright Orihime, kids will be kids," he said with a grimace.

"I am not a kid!"

"We need to be going though, hehe, we don't want to be so late for day camp that we miss it, hehe," said Orihime awkwardly.

"Mother we are only twenty minutes late, there are still several hours left in the day we…." Rei was cut off suddenly by her mother pushing her past Renji towards the stone building he had just left Yuki at.

"Well Bye Renji, we'll see you later, maybe you and Yuki can come over for dinner sometime this week," Orihime said before turning the corner into the courtyard with her daughter.

Renji stared at the place where the two had disappeared and then shook his head that Quincy girl was going to be a problem in the future, there was too much of her Grandfather in her. He wondered though if Rei was mean to Yuki, she didn't like Shinigami, obviously, but he wondered if she also didn't like Yuki because of her parents.

He thought about it, Uryu and Ichigo were close friends and worked together at the hospital. They were always around each other and their families were with each other as constantly. Ichigo's oldest daughter and Uryu's oldest daughter were good friends and even their son's were close despite the age difference. He wondered if Yuki and Rei were the same, or if they were bitter enemies. It would explain some of Yuki's introverted personality; not having a close friend like her siblings was probably hard. Especially if she had to constantly be around the little Quincy.

"How was Day Camp?" Renji asked as Yuki pulled off her boots and set them by the door. He had been late by several minutes and Yuki had not talked to him the entire way home. He had even ordered her as a Vice Capitan of the 13 Court Guards to speak to him, however she had ignored him and remained silent.

"Fine," she said as she hung up her rain coat.

Shocked that she had actually answered him he almost tripped over the runner rug in the hall. Yuki walked past him, dragging her book bag with her, into the kitchen. "Uhh was that Quincy girl nice to you?" he asked after his small battle had ended. He had worried about the Quincy's attitude all day. Yuki was sitting at the table with a bottle of water, she gazed at him.

"You mean Rei?" she asked, Renji nodded. "I don't know she was the same I guess," she said with a shrug.

"Was she nice to you?" he asked, her tone made him suspicious.

"Yeah, she was fine," Yuki said looking at him confused.

"So she wasn't mean to you?" he asked.

"No meaner than usual," she took a sip of her water and then pulled a yellow notebook from her backpack. She began to draw and for a few minutes was undisturbed until Renji turned her chair to face him and kneeled down in front of her.

Her large eyes met his and he stared at her, "Yuki if she is bullying you, you don't have to go back to camp you know."

Yuki raised an eyebrow in question, "If who is bullying me?"

"The Quincy girl, Rei."

"Rei isn't bullying me," Yuki said confused, "Uncle Renji Day Camp is fine." She turned back and started drawing again.

Renji watched as she flawlessly drew a beautiful flower and began to color it. She had said that Rei wasn't bullying her, but still he could feel that there was something off with the girl. Renji looked down at her again and then patted her head. She leaned back and looked up at him. "What do you wanna eat kid?"

Once again resuming his sprawled out position on the couch Renji turned on the television while Yuki sat down in front of the couch. She placed her yellow notebook on the coffee table in front of her and began to draw again, this time she drew several black jagged lines across the paper. Once they were thick and black she began to color in the spaces between a dark red color.

Renji glanced down at the paper and tried to see what she was drawing. But from his place on the couch it just looked like a bunch of crisscrosses. He was about to ask her about her picture when the doorbell rang. Renji sat up and looked at the clock it was 9:45. "Who comes for a visit now?" he said.

"It's Uncle Sado" said Yuki without looking up from her drawing. Renji looked around and wondered how she could have known who it was. It was impossible to see outside from the living room. He stood up and went to the door. Chad and a large teenage boy stood on the front porch.

"Hey Chad, uhh Ichigo isn't here right now," Renji said.

"I know." He held up a green reusable shopping bag. "We brought these over for you." The boy next to Chad held up another identical looking bag; Renji stared at the teen. He was almost identical to his father, save the fact that he was a foot shorter, but he had grown a lot since Renji had seen him.

"Orihime said that you were watching Yuki so we thought she might want to eat some vegetables this week," Chad said. Renji caught the underlying insinuation and would have glared had Yuki not come up behind him.

"Hi Yoshiko," Yuki said politely. The teen next to Chad bowed deeply and held out the bag of vegetables. Yuki blinked at him twice then sighed and took the bag, "Thank you Yasutora-san." Renji didn't fail to notice the blush the crept up on Yoshiko's face when Yuki spoke to him. The teen mumbled a "You're welcome." and then backed up a few steps to stand behind his father.

Yuki looked up at him and then to Chad. "I will tell momma that you brought us good food to eat. She warned me about Uncle Renji's cooking."

Chad nodded slightly and then handed the other bag to Renji. "Tell Ichigo to call me when he gets back."

"Alright he should be back by Friday," Renji told him. Chad and Yoshiko turned and walked towards the street and back into the now drizzling rain.

Renji closed the door and looked down to speak to Yuki but she was gone. "Oi midget, what was that your mother said about me cooking?"

"She said that you can't," Yuki's voice came from the kitchen. Renji followed to find her at the sink rinsing off the raw vegetables.

"Hey I made dinner didn't I!"

"Heating up a premade meal isn't that hard Uncle Renji."

"Navigating that machine is more complicated than it looks," he said pointing to the black box on the counter.

Yuki looked over at it, "It's a microwave Uncle Renji, even Emiko can use it and she's three."

Renji looked at her blankly, not knowing who Emiko was and also not believing that a three year old could make the black box work.

"Emiko is Aunt Karin's daughter," Yuki said with a sigh.

"Well….living in the human world gives her and advantage."

Yuki rolled her eyes and went back to washing the vegetables. Renji watched her for several moments. Finally he sat down at the table, "Yoshiko sure is tall isn't he."

Yuki stopped washing the cucumber that was in her hands. She didn't move, "Yeah he's gotten taller since he was over last time."

"How old is he?" Renji asked noticing her demeanor had changed.

"Thirteen," she said without a seconds hesitation.

"I see."

Yuki turned around and looked at her Uncle, "He's a human Uncle Renji."

Her statement took him by surprise, "Wha…what does that mean?"

"He's a human and I'm not."

"You're human Yuki."

"No I'm the daughter of two Shinigami," she said. "Central 46 hasn't decided what that makes me yet but it doesn't make me human," she said.

"Who told you that?"

"Uncle Byakuya," she whispered.

"Yuki…" Suddenly from the sink there was a loud snapping sound.

She dropped what she was holding into the sink and ran for the door, "I'm going to take a bath." Before Renji could say anything she was gone, he stood up and went to the sink. The cucumber that she had been holding was laying in the sink broken in half, her thumb print dug deep into the side.

Well the next chapter should be out soon so tell me what you think!