It was getting dark and I was still so far from home. I wasn't entirely sure where I was, but I was comforted by the various streetlights I could see through the thinner leaves on the trees. I started to walk a little faster and I brought the shopping bag I held closer to my chest. Ichigo sent me on a mission to pick up the food for tonight- he was planning on introducing me to some of his friends from 'out of town'. I had no idea why he put that phrase in air quotes, but it scared me half to death.
The wind blew my copper hair back as it whipped my in the face. My hair got annoying at times because as wonderful and curly as it was, my roots were starting to show…and my natural hair color is black. It takes so much time and effort to handle it!
I neared the street corner and just as I arrived under the light it went out.
"Well this is perfect- it's dark and windy and now I can't see!" I yelled to no one as I tried to take control of my hair once more. I picked up my pace into a run and practically destroyed Ichigo's front door as I barreled in from the fear there was something behind me.
"You alright Varunee?" Ichigo's dad asked me gently. I nodded once and gave him a nervous smile.
"Yeah, I'm okay- I just gave myself the creeps. It's so strange out there, it's just got this feeling, you know?" I asked him as I picked up the bag of food.
"Yah, I see what you mean." He said while looking out the window. "Ichigo's upstairs…why do you have so much food?" he asked me with a puzzled look.
"Oh, this?" I asked while pointing to the bag, "this is for Ichigo, Rukia, and I. I know she's here too and we plan on being pigs tonight!" I yelled as I ran up the stairs before he could ask me anymore questions. Why didn't he know Ichigo's friends from 'out of town' were here?
I knocked on Ichigo's door and when he opened it I threw the bag of food right into his face.
"Do you know how freaking scary it is out there?" I yelled in his face when he removed the bag.
"Well gee, I figured you would be able to walk down the block and back you pansy! I mean you live here, don't you!" he yelled back at me.
"Yeah, but my house is closer to a DIFFERENT store! Not the one you sent me to! I mean I had to walk through the creepiest woods in the world to get there!" I said exhausted while sitting down.
It was then I noticed there were others in the room with us. Orihime, Chad, Uryuu, Rukia, and three people I had never seen before. One was a short boy who looked to be around the age of fourteen with snow-white hair, another was a woman with the largest most voluptuous chest I had ever seen in my life, and then there was a third who really caught my attention. He was tall and had red hair with some funky tattoos across his face—he was so handsome!
"Varunee, I want you to meet my friends Toshiro, Rangiku, and Renji. They're the ones from 'out of town'". He said with a pleased smile.
"I thought you said you were having friends as in A LOT of friends, I'm less nervous now. And what the hell is with the air quotes?" I yelled.
And so they all explained to me what the Soul Society was and what Hueco Mundo was. I sat there astonished with my mouth agape through the entire tale. I would have never imagined there to be a place as amazing and strange as these.
When they had finished explaining, they all stared at me waiting for my response. I honestly didn't even know what to think so I stood up and walked over to the window.
"Why did you wait so long to tell me this?" I asked while staring at the brightest star right across from the window.
"We weren't sure if you had any spiritual pressure before, but now we're positive. As you were walking home we watched you blow out every street light you walked under without even realizing." Orihime said.
"It's not just perfect pitch, Varunee. You have high frequency rays that can destroy anything around you. Also, why do you think you heal so much faster than the rest of us? You get a huge gash and it's gone within an hour." Ichigo said as I turned around to look at him.
"You mean to tell me that I have special powers? How would you guys know this and I don't?" I asked in a defensive tone.
"Because we've been studying you for over a year now." The voice in the corner peeped up. It was the first thing I heard Renji say that entire conversation.
"You're in on this too?" I asked while pointing at him.
"In on it? I've been here before and I was the one who was able to pick you out of a crowd of people." He said proudly. "I noticed you immediately with your reiatsu, your copper brown hair, and your wonderful dark skin tone." He said almost in a trance.
"…right. But anyway, what happens now?" I asked them. Renji and Ichigo grinned simultaneously and nodded at each other.
"Renji sees a strong potential in you and we're going to need your help with the upcoming war. He wants to take you back to Soul Society with him and train you to meet your power at your full potential." Ichigo said with glistening eyes.
"Yeah, that sounds hunky dory and all- but what am I supposed to tell my family?" I asked them while popping my hip out.
"We have it covered." Rukia said while getting up from her spot on the carpet. She handed me a small rounded pill. "Once you eat this, you leave your body but a substitute soul will take its place. Watch as I demonstrate." She said as she popped the pill into her mouth. There was a strange popping sound and she hit the ground. I looked to the left and Rukia was standing there wearing strange robes…but her body was lying on the ground. The next thing I knew the body on the ground was sitting up. I leapt out from where I was sitting.
"HOLY CRAP! What the hell is that thing?" I asked while hiding behind Chad. The body got up and jumped right next to me.
"HI THERE! I'm Rukia! It's nice to meet you! You're really pretty! Wow you have a great butt!" the Rukia look alike said as I jumped back.
"And there you have it- she'll take my place while I'm gone so it just looks like I went insane instead of looking like I died." Rukia said while re-emerging with her body. I just stared at them all like they were insane and had to be lowered down to Ichigo's bed by Uryuu.
"Alright, I really have to admit that I'm freaked out beyond belief right now." I said while trying to regain composure. Renji moved over and sat down next to me on the bed and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Trust me you'll get the hang of it as long as you stick around with me." He said with a smile. Who was this guy? His hair was unnaturally red now that I thought about it…and he didn't even have eyebrows! And what was with his clothes…they were so…60's. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy though—still handsome.
"Okay, I guess I'll come with you then. I want to be able to help the cause." I said with an unsure smile.
"Great! We'll leave tomorrow!" he said while standing. I looked at him with my eyes wide-
"TOMORROW?"
I awoke the next morning and when I opened my eyes, Renji was sitting on my windowsill staring at the sun.
"AGH! What the hell are you doing?" I yelled while covering myself up. I usually only slept in a bra and underwear and I was completely exposed.
"Don't worry, I only glanced at you. Hurry up and put the pill in your mouth so we can go already." He said in a monotone voice. He seemed a lot less lively than last night. I just shrugged it off and swallowed the pill. I burst from my body and I too was wearing those strange black robes. I looked over at my body as it slowly rose up like Rukia's did last night. I looked down at it and when my own eyes opened I was literally staring myself in the face. She looked away and right at Renji.
"WOW who's the hunk?" she yelled while diving out of the bed. I was still dressed in a bra and underwear, mind you.
"HEY GET BACK UNDER THE COVERS!"
"Oh honey, nothing's stopping me from getting to that sexy guy over there!" she yelled as she went to tackle him out the window. I grabbed her by the ponytail and flung her against the wall.
"Stay!" I yelled at her while she rubbed her…my head. I turned to Renji who was now staring at her and trying not to laugh. "What am I supposed to do now? The pill turned me into a man crazy lunatic!" I said in a pleading voice.
"Hey, at least you're not Rukia's. Hers practically became a lesbian. But I have to compliment you on your curves, you have very nice features." He said with stars in his eyes as he stared at my…her body.
"STOP THAT!" I yelled while smacking the back of his head. He just shrugged it off.
"It's fine, just leave her. It'll all work out in the end. Are you ready yet?" he asked impatiently. I nodded once and we were off. "Alright I need to summon a portal up so we can get back. Now let me warn you, once this portal opens- you need to run faster than fast otherwise you'll get blown away from me, alright?" he asked. I nodded once again and he opened two French doors that magically appeared in the middle of the road. He glanced at me once more and we were off.
I ran faster than I ever could have expected to run! I sped right by Renji but decided to keep pace with him since he was the one in charge. We made it out without any qualms and we were left to the rest of the journey ahead. We smiled at each other before continuing on. I had to admit again that now that Renji wasn't wearing those weird vintage clothes from before that he looked much better. I wondered what his hair looked like outside of the ponytail.
He stopped running when we reached a large building with a Japanese number 1 painted on the front doors.
"This is the head captain's quarters. He's the one you really need to meet- but I'm the one who's going to be training you and hanging around you a lot, okay?" he asked and I just smiled. I snapped back because I was entranced in his eyes…what was happening to me? We walked forward and he rapped on the large doors six times. The word 'enter' rung throughout the hall and Renji opened the large oak doors. He gave a small bow and I did the same because I wasn't entirely sure what was happening.
"Abarai, Renji- state your business." Said the husky voice.
"Head commander, sir, I have here Varunee- she's been proven to be special after the long year I've been sent to observe her and I've brought her back here to train her for the upcoming encounter." Renji said proudly. The head commander looked me up and down and grunted when he was finished.
"Take her with you, then. She'll be a fine addition." He said while shooing us away.
"That went extremely well!" Renji said with a huge smile.
"That was well? It seemed more like I was some kind of present he wasn't too pleased to be receiving with the way he looked me up and down." I said while walking forward.
"He's really off-putting but you'll get used to it. He's a good guy overall." Renji responded. I just shrugged and continued on.
"You know your voice is like a song?" I said to him with a slight smile.
"Oh really? How so?" he looked down at me.
"Well, most of your sentences are spoken in the key of B minor, but sometimes a little G major's thrown in there." I said with a smirk.
"That's amazing that you can tell that. It's a true gift." We stopped and stared at each other.
"Well, yeah it runs in my family." I said while turning away to hide the blush. We kept going until we arrived at his quarters.
"Here's the squad six barracks." He said while opening his arms wide as if he were going to hug the place.
"It's nice, it seems pretty homey." I said while walking through the front door and smelling the hard wood floor.
"Come on, I want you to meet the captain. Be alarmed though because he always comes off as cold hearted." He warned me before rapping on the door. Once again, the word 'enter' echoed from inside. We entered the room and the minute I looked at that man I could tell he wouldn't like me.
"Taicho, this is the girl I've been studying for a year. Her name's Varunee and she has tons of gifts that she can bring to the table to help us win this war." Renji told his captain. I stepped forward and nodded at the captain with a slight bow.
"She seems fine enough. I'm very busy." Was all he said before Renji and I took our leave.
"So he seems…uptight." I said while stifling a laugh.
"Yeah, well that's Kuchiki Taicho for you." he said while shaking his head.
"Wait, Kuchiki? As in Rukia Kuchiki?" I asked with amazement.
"Yes, he adopted her into his family because he was married to her sister. Her older sister, Hisana was killed when she got sick and Byakuya Taicho vowed to protect Rukia ever since. It's obvious he loves her too- in a sisterly kind of way." He replied to my inquisition.
Renji and I had been training together for months, expanding the wide range of my abilities, and I knew I would be able to defeat top ranking captains at this point. I was ready to take on some Espada!
"You've improved a significant amount from when I first met you, Varunee!" Renji said with excitement while sitting down. His shirt was off and he looked amazing. Over the last few months, I've grown to really like Renji…more than just a friend…and maybe even more than just your average lover. I loved being around him, I loved his soft B minor voice and I loved everything about him. I had to admit that I was…very much in love with Renji Abarai.
"Hey, what are you staring at?" he asked me with an eyebrow twitching. I picked up my sword slowly and cut the tiny piece of rope that was holding his hair in the ponytail. His long, red hair exploded out and landed gracefully on top of his well-trimmed chest. My heart exploded out of my butt at that point.
"Sorry, I had just never seen your hair down before." I said barely audible. He looked at me like I was insane and I just turned away to hide the biggest blush of my life. He stood up and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind.
"And I've never seen someone blush as much as you are right now." He said smugly. I was completely embarrassed and I went to push him away- but when I tried, he turned me around so we were face to face. We were close enough where the tips of our noses were touching and I was ready to have a heart attack right there.
"Can I confess something to you right here and right now, Varunee?" he asked me in the softest tone I ever heard.
"Yes." Was all I could conjure up to say to him.
"Ever since I was assigned to watch over you and learn your powers- I fell in love with you. I fell in love with every part of you, from your loving nature to the way you eat your fried chicken. I just…I was never able to come up with the words to tell you, and this doesn't even cover how much love I hold in my heart for you. I love you, Varunee and I want you to know that." He said while pulling me into an embrace.
"Renji…the only thing I can say to you after that is…I love you too. Ever since I came to Soul Society I knew something would happen between us- or I hoped something would happen between us. Everything about you makes my heart beat one hundred miles per hour…I don't even know what else so say to you either aside from that I always want to be by your side forever, and I love you with everything I have." I whispered right in his ear.
He pulled us far apart enough so we could look directly into each other eyes and as I was wiping a stand of his hair from his eye he brought me into the greatest kiss of my life. It was so perfect- it wasn't too rough, but I could still feel the force and the passion behind it. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he put his right hand behind my head to cradle us there in that position forever. The minute it ended I knew wonderful things were to follow behind it. My life would be spent following Renji Abarai's footsteps and I would grow into the greatest Soul Reaper ever, thanks to him. We loved each other with everything we had and everything we needed- and that love was strong enough to last eternities.