Disclaimer: I own not the characters that I'm going to mess with, nor do I own Bleach, only the plot is mine… well and the computer I'm typing on.
I hit the punching bag one last time before wiping the sweat off my forehead. Checking my reflection in the window of the dojo, I made sure my black hair was still pulled back tightly and not falling out. Ever since Ichigo had finally explained what happened three years ago when the entire town had been moved and that psychopath Aizen tried to kill us all, I have been training nonstop to be stronger. Now we had just graduated and were all separating to create our own futures: Ichigo had been gone for two weeks already at the Soul Society to fill in a vacancy in the Captains and Chad had gone with him (something about reconnecting with an old Captain friend for drinks whatever that meant…); Orihime and Uryuu were going to Tokyo to get medical training together; and I was going to Karakura College while working at the dojo. Since I had school all day, I taught the kids classes at night at the dojo, and as a result the owners gave me a key to lock up with. Most of the time after class was over I stayed and trained to get stronger, and the difference was more noticeable. I had been strong before, noted by my achievements in fighting since I was 15, but now I was reaching new strengths. My arms showed more pronounced muscle along with my legs, and I was proud to say that I had kept some feminine curves despite my rigorous training. Apparently my physical strength wasn't the only thing getting stronger as Uryuu had commented that my reiatsu was strong for a human, comparable to Ichigo's entire family excluding Yuzu.
As I looked outside at the sleeping streets of Karakura Town, a prickling feeling ran along my scalp. A Hollow, I wonder where it's at? The spiritual pressure is getting closer to me, I have to do something! After the episode with Xcution not many of the Shinigami have been around town, Karin and I have been trying to keep the numbers down, along with those two weird kids from Urahara's shop but there's only so much we can do. There are spirits here that attract the Hollows that we can't take care of, so the Hollows just keep coming. I felt for Karin's spiritual pressure, but I remembered she had to take tonight off since she was seeing a movie with Yuzu. Besides, I was closest to it anyways, so I ran out the door, making sure to lock the door and bring the key with me. The air outside was much cooler than in the dojo, and being in shorts and a tank top just emphasized the temperature difference. Luckily for me though, the Hollow was only a few streets away and was terrorizing a small group of spirits, one of which was futilely trying to beat the masked monster away with a large stick.
"Oi creepy," I yelled and tried to draw attention away from the spirits so that they could run, "Why don't you terrorize someone else?" The Hollow, a nasty looking thing that looked vaguely scorpion-like looked towards me while the other spirits ran away quickly. I grimaced and took a deep breath, when a blur ran past me and sliced a sword through the Hollow's mask. The Hollow broke apart like dust and drifted away
"Man I hate being on Hollow duty while we're on missions. We're not even on a real mission, it's just an excuse for Captain Hitsugaya to see Karin, and for the Head Captain to have someone get rid of all of the spirits in Karakura," The former blur now revealed itself to be a red-haired man whose hair was tied back into a ponytail and spikey. He held a sword- Zanpakuto, not sword- in one hand and scratching the back of his head with the other, "Not to mention humans always get in the way." He turned to face me and scrutinized my face. Does he not know that I can hear and see him? Hm, I could use this to my advantage to see who I'm dealing with. I looked around and stretched like I had just been out for a run, "I can't believe this chick was going for a run at midnight and almost ran right into the Hollow! Gah, women in the World of the Living are so dumb sometimes, although some of them aren't the worst looking."
I took advantage of my fake-stretching to check out the Shinigami while he mused out loud. He was tall, roughly Ichigo's height, and very muscular. It wasn't quite the same as any of my close male friends, not buff like Chad, but not a lean muscular like Ichigo and Uryuu. His red hair didn't look natural; it looked like the main character of a mermaid movie Orihime made me watch and definitely had to have been dyed. He wore a bandana around his forehead and I noticed that he had black tribal-like tattoos covering his face and neck and it looked like more plunged into his black uniform. I felt his eyes on me as I bent over, enjoying my stretch in the fresh air instead of the dojo, "Are you going to just gawk at me pineapple head, or actually talk to me?" I snapped, attempting to stamp down the fire of anger over his last comment and scared the man. I had been just fine fake stretching and going to go on my way until his last comment.
"Wh-WHAT?! You can see me?" The man spluttered and I noted that he had a faint blush dusting his cheeks.
"You're a Shinigami, aren't you?" I asked and he stiffened, "How's Ichigo doing? He isn't making a fool out of himself, is he?"
"How do you- never mind, if you're one of Ichigo's friends of course you know about Soul Society," He leaned towards me a little bit squinting, although since we were about ten feet apart I'm not sure what difference it made, "You don't look familiar, wait, are you Tatsuki? Ichigo talks about you and all of his old friends all the time, I can't believe he let you beat him up when you guys were kids!" The mysterious man threw his head back and laughed and I blushed angrily.
"I beat him up when we were kids because he was weak back then! Besides who are you? It's rude to not tell a person your name you know!" I glared at him and crossed my arms. He stopped laughing and looked at me again.
"Renji Abarai, Lieutenant of the Squad Six," He replied with a bored look, and speaking as if though reciting a definition from a dictionary, "What were you doing out this late anyways?"
"Training at my dojo, well the dojo that I work at. I had been practicing my punches when the Hollow appeared nearby, although I would have had to go get it anywhere probably since Karin was in a situation she couldn't get out of," I mused. I shook myself and away from the man, "I've got to go and finish up there, I'll see you pineapple head." I started jogging back towards the dojo, deciding it was probably best just to go home now.
"Wait!" Renji was jogging after me and I looked back. When I looked back I hadn't noticed an uneven crack in the sidewalk and I tripped, my momentum carrying me forward. I threw my hands in front of me to prevent my face from hitting the hard pavement and closed my eyes and felt my arms and head thud. After a few seconds I realized that I hadn't hit the sidewalk but something else and opened one eye, although I immediately wished I hadn't as I blushed slightly. Renji had grabbed me from behind to stop me from falling, but overestimated the strength he had used and had pulled me straight into his chest. My hands had grabbed onto his shirt and my face was pressed into his neck while his arms were wrapped around me loosely and I flushed when I realized that his head was pressed into my cheek. He hadn't let go yet, and as he inhaled sharply I wondered if his eyes were closed too.
"Um, Renji?" I asked after a few seconds, attempting to get over my stunned reaction at what had just happened and the said man's head lifted up slightly, "You can let go of me now, I didn't fall." Renji let go of me as if I was on fire and looked away pointedly.
"I was going to tell you that if you wanted someone to help you train I'll be in town for a few days. We could start tonight if you wanted," Renji said and looked at me for an answer. He wants to help me train? This could be a good thing, I want to get stronger and here's a real Shinigami who is willing to help me do just that.
I looked Renji in the eye and nodded, "Let's go, the dojo is only a few blocks away." We walked in silence for a few minutes with his hands stuffed into his uniform- Do they have pockets or is he shoving his hands down his pants?- and I had my hands clasped behind my head. Now that the adrenaline had left my system I felt the cold again and shivered, rubbing my hands up and down my arms.
"Why are you in shorts and a tank top this late in the fall anyways?" Renji asked and I shrugged. These were my usual workout clothes so I hadn't planned to wear anything different just in case of a Hollow attack. While I stared straight ahead I heard a person running behind me. I turned to see another Renji running towards us, and I blinked slowly. I must have been seeing things and I looked at Renji.
"Wait, did you just change clothes?" I asked. He was no longer wearing his Shinigami uniform, instead he was wearing clothes similar to what those American hippies wore including jeans a yellow shirt with green and red stripes and a vest. He nodded but didn't elaborate. Instead he just kept walking and we soon got to the dojo and I unlocked the door. As we walked inside I moved over to the floor instead of the bags where I had been earlier, "Alright pineapple head, what do you want to show me?"
"My name isn't pineapple head!" Renji snapped, but he took off his vest, "Are there any uniforms or other clothes I could wear for training here?"
"Probably," I offered and we went to check. Usually there were plenty of training clothes since at least one person a day forgot theirs, so it was fairly easy to scrounge up a pair of black basketball shorts and a plain white t-shirt for him to wear. I went back into the training area while Renji changed and worked on my punches again. Soon I lost myself in the rhythmic thuds of my fists hitting the punching bags, and didn't notice Renji had walked into the room while I had been hitting.
"If you open your stance towards your target, then you can get a more powerful hit in," His voice said from close behind me and I jump-turned around. Goddamn Shinigami and their silent movements!, "Why don't we do some hand-to-hand combat training for now so I can see some of your moves in action." I followed silently, trying to strategize now so that I didn't have to waste time while fighting. He was tall and muscular, that much was obvious. If he was a lieutenant of the Soul Society then that must mean that he has considerable strength and fighting skills. If the saying the bigger they are the harder they fall is true, then hopefully a few very well placed kicks and punches will work. Oh who am I kidding, if he's fought those psychopaths that Aizen controlled then he's got to be a durable fighter. I'll just have to see how this goes then…
"Ready?" I asked as we both got into a fighting stance. He nodded then we began fighting, Renji being the first to charge. I held my ground but twisted to the left at the last minute and pushed a fisted hand downwards onto his back. Renji, most likely anticipating this, turned and grabbed my wrists and pulled me down with him. We rolled on the floor for a minute trying to gain the upper hand before Renji's considerable strength won. He had me pinned under him and held my wrists above my head while he straddled me. Our faces were only an inch apart, our noses almost touching. I flushed embarrassedly at our positions, I'd never been pinned down so easily before, and I obviously had a lot to learn before I was even on par with someone like Renji.
"It's taken me more years than I'd like to admit to be able to do this," Renji stated but still hadn't moved. I swallowed and tried to close my widened eyes so that I could blink. My eyes however had a different plan and I kept staring Renji down. After a moment of silence he got up and offered his hand to help me up which I took gratefully, "Now let's train you so that you can be able to last more than a minute with me by the end of my time here. Or are you all bark and no bite? Maybe girls here really are only meant to be pretty faces" Renji shrugged and turned away from me and stretched his arms above his head.
"Hey!" I snapped and Renji turned towards me. I felt anger boiling my blood, and Renji had a slightly terrified look in his eyes, "I am not just a pretty face. I am the strongest woman in Japan, and I have been since I was fifteen, no sixteen. But when I was fifteen I was the second strongest, and that was with a broken wrist. I am both bark and bite, I terrify my enemies and take down those who stand in my way," I looked up and saw Renji staring at me now, "If anyone threatens my friends or I, I will take care of them. I'll show you what I, Tatsuki Arisawa, can really do you chauvinistic pineapple head!"
"Great," Renji was grinning broadly. There was something akin to admiration in his eyes. My heart fluttered a little, "Why don't you use that anger and put it behind your attacks?"
For the rest of the night, until five in the morning when I was practically dead on my feet, we trained. We trained the next night and the next until it was finally Renji's last night in Karakura for this mission. There hadn't been any repeats of that first awkward takedown, and I think both of us are happy about that. We were walking down the streets around seven and looking for food, one of our new habits to grab food a few hours before we train so we're not hungry but not too stuffed. Normally he would come and watch the classes I taught, but tonight I didn't work.
"Listen, I'm not scheduled for tonight so we have to waste time until the dojo closes before we can go practice there," I told Renji as we were walking through the streets, him in a fake body I learned was called a gigai and wearing the same hippy-like clothes.
"Sounds good, we can just take a lot of time eating and digesting our food at the restaurant until then. I've been out Hollow hunting all day and I'm starving!" Renji said and his stomach rumbled in agreement. I threw my head back and laughed as we walked into the restaurant. We waited to sit in silence and finally the waitress, a gum-snapping brunette that reminded me of Chizuru in the way she looked at Renji as if though he were just a pretty thing to gawk at, got us a secluded table in the back. She winked, twirled her hair and snapped her gum at Renji as we ordered and I had to cough to cover a laugh at Renji's cluelessness. Inside though I was fighting annoyance, why I have no clue, it could have just been that such obvious flirters annoyed the crap out of me.
"Are all girls in the World of the Living like her, you know gum snapping and constantly winking?" Renji asked as she finally walked away after her failure to seduce Renji. I guess maybe he did notice. I snickered and just shook my head, "What? In the Seireitei if you like someone you don't twirl your hair and wink, you flirt with your words. See if I liked you I'd buy you supper, and then I'd try some lines on you. Here's a good one," Renji leaned across the table and grabbed my hand. I pinked a bit as Renji looked into my eyes, "I'm so lucky to be eating dinner with the most beautiful girl in the world. You're the best part of this entire meal," The people eating near us had gone silent as Renji spoke, and I heard a few aww's coming from the crowd. I blushed furiously and glared daggers at Renji. Apparently he's as dumb as he looks, you don't say those things in a full restaurant! That's it, he's going to be getting beaten up tonight!
"Idiot!" I hissed, hitting him softly on the top of his head, "You don't say that kind of stuff in a public place when you're not dating a girl!"
"You don't?" Renji asked with a smirk, "Hm that ruins half the fun, doesn't it little ninja?"
"I'm not little! I'm a tall for my age and gender unlike you Mr. Part Giant!" Our banter went back and forth like this until our food came, but even then it still continued between bites of our food. I guess we lost track of time a little bit because the next time I checked the time it was almost nine, closing time, "I'm going to go on ahead a little ways so that I can say something to the owners of the dojo and apologize for the punching bag you broke last night. You just hang around here until I call for you, okay?"
"I don't know, I don't like the thought of you walking in the dark around that part of town so late by yourself," Renji said, leaning back a little bit and taking out his wallet to pay for the bill. I stubbornly took out my wallet and put down the money for my meal, which was miniscule compared to what he ate, "I'll come with you while you explain to the owners."
"But-" I tried to say no but he interrupted me.
"No buts," Renji shook his head, "Whenever I let my friends do something by themselves, something bad happens to them." He didn't specifically say it, but we both knew he was thinking of Rukia. He had left her to go to her mission in this world, and she had almost been executed due to a survival plan she had enacted. To top that off, she had fallen for a boy she had known for barely a fraction of the time she knew Renji and the two of them were now dating. He had to be feeling terrible about the whole ordeal, from what I'd heard from Rukia after I found out her true identity, the two had been close friends in what they called the Rukongai.
"Fine, just don't say anything in front of them, and put a hoodie on instead of your weird hippy clothes and put the hood over your bright hair!" I said as we stood up from the booth. We walked out of the restaurant and down the street towards the dojo. Since the time had been passing quickly these past couple of days, I hadn't realized that it was Friday and the streets would be filled with people out for some fun out of work. Renji and I had to walk close together, and even then we had almost gotten separated more than once. Finally Renji grabbed my shoulder and pushed me in front of him, keeping his hand on my shoulder. I tried to ignore the weight of his hand and the way his warm hand had found a strip of skin not covered by my t-shirt near my neck.
"Stay in front of my, otherwise I'll lose you in this crowd," Renji said, bending over and talking into my ear. I shivered slightly when his breath hit my ear then nodded while he kept steering me in the direction of our destination. It was a good thing he was leading/steering me because I'm not sure if I could have concentrated on trivial things like directions with Renji now being pressed into my back. Why should it matter? It's not that I like like him or anything, he's just a new friend, a new Shinigami friend I might add, that's helping me train. There's no reason for my heart to flutter when he puts his hand on my shoulder, or for my stomach to get butterflies when we're this close to each other. Besides, I've only known him for a few days so it's not as if though either of us knows a lot about the other.
We were getting closer to the dojo when a beeping sound came from Renji's pockets. He took out a phone and I wondered who he could be texting in Karakura, "I've got to go for a few minutes to get rid of some Hollows, you go straight to the dojo and stay there until I get back okay? If I find out you left or anything of the sort, I will personally skin you alive and leave you to the Hollows." With that he was out of the gigai and moving unexplainably fast towards where the Hollow was. Meanwhile the fake body grabbed my hand, and kept pace with me while I finished the rest of the walk to the dojo.
"Hello Tatsuki! I was just going to close up," The owner, a man in his 40's or 50's, smiled in greeting as I stepped into the dojo, "What are you doing here today?" He grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off of his forehead, "And who's that guy holding your hand? You normally don't bring friends here unless it's that Ichigo kid or Orihime." I glanced over at Renji's gigai who just stood there grinning and sighed.
"He's my, er, umm-" I racked my brain for an excuse as to why he'd be holding my hand, but found none when a voice interrupted me.
"I'm her boyfriend," I jumped when Renji's voice spoke up and blushed. He let go of me hand and put his arm around my waist which pulled me closer to him. Yeah, he's definitely back in the gigai unless he trained it to say that, "I'm only here for one more night and thought I'd like to see the place where she works. And I'm the one who broke the punching bag. I'm sorry sir." Renji bowed his head slightly while the dojo owner looked him over.
"That's fine, it was an easy fix. Actually Tatsuki fixed it for the most part. I hate to ask you this on your day off, but could you close up? I have to get home and send the babysitter home before it gets too late," The owner scratched the back of his head. I nodded and pulled out my keys to show him. He said goodbye then walked out the door while we moved to the back of the room by the changing rooms. I waited for about five seconds before rounding on Renji.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?!" I yelled and tried to punch him only to be blocked by Renji's fist, "Who gave you the right to say something like that in front of the owner? I have to see him almost every day! Don't get me started on the fact of which that he's going to tell-"
"What if I wanted it like that?" Renji asked, still holding onto my fist. He tugged me a bit closer to him until our chests were almost touching and I had to tilt my head back just to see his face. With incredible speed he pressed me to the wall, which had been behind him and about two feet away. The breath was pulled out of my lungs and I couldn't seem to draw in any more when Renji leaned down so our faces were inches apart. No matter how fast I tried to breathe in, it seemed as if no oxygen made it to my brain and the edges of my vision got fuzzy.
Pull yourself together Tatsuki, what are you the strongest young woman in Japan or a mouse? This is Renji, a man you met just a few days ago and you shouldn't be letting him do this to you at all! He may be a Shinigami, but nobody escapes unharmed when my friends or I have been wronged.
But…
Do I want this? I guess I really don't mind it all too much that he's this close to me and that's what scares me. So far my entire life has been about protecting my loved ones, and becoming stronger in order to do that. Making sure Chizuru doesn't grope Orihime, watching out for Karin and Yuzu whenever Ichigo can't, hell even making sure that none of my classmates get eaten by Hollows now that I've learned about them. I've never really had time for anything like dating, other than having friends to hang out with. Renji is a guy, I'd say he could easily pass for a man even, it really just surprises me now that a guy looks at me and doesn't think of Orihime's protector.
Renji must have seen the inner turmoil in my eyes, and he released me before stepping away with a dusting of pink on his cheeks, "Sorry, if you want, we can just pretend that never happened. I'll just finish your training and get out of here, so let's start with some warm-ups." Renji walked towards the open floor and I followed in a daze. My mind was in overdrive trying to figure out my feeling for this man I had only known for a few days. Since I was so distracted, I never noticed that the edge of a mat had come up, and I tripped on it falling forward, "Tatsuki watch out for the mat!" Renji grabbed for me to prevent the fall, but my momentum caused the both of us to fall down. So much for not being put into these situations any more, what are you, the clumsy heroine from one of Orihime's and Yuzu's shoujo manga stories? Seriously!
"Sorry Pineapple head, I guess I didn't see that edge," I tried to keep my voice steady and not show any of my jumbled nerves. That was no problem, until of course I noticed our positioning. Renji's legs were in between mine and our arms were each wrapped around the other tightly due to the fall. A glance at Renji had me realizing that he was extremely aware of how we were situated from the way his eyes had slightly darkened from an emotion I didn't want to think about, yet alone name. I flicked my eyes to look at the rest of his expression, namely his lips, and found them pressed tightly together as if he was holding himself back from something. Slowly I felt myself grow warmer and warmer under the hooded look I was getting from the red-haired male, when he slid one of his hands up from my neck to cup my cheek. His face lowered towards mine and I closed my eyes in anticipation of the impending kiss.
The moment his lips touched mine, everything else faded away into nothingness. No longer could I feel the uncomfortable mat underneath me, only Renji's body pressing against mine and vice versa. When his tongue swept along my bottom lip I froze. It wasn't that I was completely inexperienced at kissing (there had been too many late nights in our little group, and a few games of truth or dare, spin the bottle and Keigo attempting to get us to play 7 minutes in heaven) but none of those kisses even hit the tip of the iceberg compared to this one. The warmth I felt from his lips on mine spread across my body, pooling in my stomach and I opened my mouth just a little bit. That was all the invitation Renji needed and his tongue plunged into my mouth, the feeling awkward at first, but turning into something almost… enjoyable.
My thoughts, along with reality, came back to me as I gasped for breath. What did I just do? I kissed a man- no, Shinigami- that I barely know! This is not how I act, my job is to protect my friends, and help others get stronger, not act like some, some, some 16 year-old hormonal teenager making out with the first attractive male that shows even a slight interest in me! I was about to voice my thoughts, when Renji's voice spoke up.
"I know it's sudden, but maybe next time I'm in town we could get together for some food?" Renji looked so hopeful, it hurt me to have to say no.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," I avoided the confused look from the male, "We barely know each other and we're literally from two separate worlds, it would be impossible to make any form of relationship work. Besides, I'm certain that there are people, er spirits, in the Soul Society that would be much better suited for you." There, I said it. I ignored my heart telling me to accept his offer, I hurt Renji, and I secured my place as a protector without distractions. Tears tried to make their way to my eyes but I stamped them down with practice ease, ignoring the part of my brain that told me to take it back immediately. He was the first guy, other than Ichigo of course, to not see me as only the violent she-devil who attacked all who dared to mess with her and her friends (although he does refer to me as a she-devil when we spar). Do I really want to push him away like this?
"Well too bad!" Renji snorted, shocking me out of my thoughts, "You don't get to give up on this before we've even tried it out!"
"What makes you think I even like you in that way?! You know what they say about assuming things- HMPH!" I was cut off by another kiss being pressed to my lips.
"That's why I don't think you like me back, that's why I know you like me back," Renji said with a smug grin after breaking away from the kiss, leaving me in a daze for a moment before I recollected myself and punch Renji in the shoulder, "OUCH! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR YOU SHE-DEVIL!"
"For assuming things you smug bastard," I ground out, crossing my arms across my chest, "and can I sit up now?"
"Nope, I feel like we should skip training tonight for a different type of practice. Maybe instead of vertical practice, was get some horizontal practice," Renji said, resettling himself over me even closer than before with a grin. I punched him again and he got off my and offered his hand to help me up, "Fine, fine…" he mumbled under his breath.
Maybe this could work, after all, this she-devil can't be distracted every second of the day by her boyfriend…
A/N: I HAVEN'T DIED QUITE YET! (Even though that'd be awesome and I'd be able to visit the Gotei 13 as often as I'd like) No, school just came up to me, bitch-slapped me a couple of times for forgetting about it and has been clingy ever since. However, I managed to pull this one-shot out of my brain and onto the computer! As my first official RenjiXTatsuki, I'm kind of proud of this piece, so reviews, comments, criticism –preferably no flames, but meh… I'll survive- on this please! And I'd like to tell you all thanks for reading this story and my other stories as well! AND REMEMBER: Review otherwise….. um, er, well this is awkward, I have no threats… so pretty please review?
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