Renji ran and ran, from what, he didn't know.

Turning his head, he noticed that some person with dark clothing was after him, hunting him down like a dog, the sword looking very similar to the Kurosaki Ichigo's.

'W...why's this guy chasing me?!'

Brown eyes shot open as he sat up swiftly, panting heavily as he slapped his left hand onto his chest above his heart. Before his eyes even opened, he was struck there, the Zanpaku-to drove into his beating heart.

'Okay...calm down, Renji,' he thought, slowly standing, wobbling a bit. 'You haven't seen him before...and so...why're ya panicking?'

They only met when he and his taicho went to get Kuchiki Rukia. Which was hours ago, so he was freaking out about an orange haired teen who possibly wouldn't pass through the gate between that world and the next.

The redhead didn't know what to think or do, all he did know was that he needed to get dressed.

888

Ichigo lifted his head with a grunt. If he knew weird, his dream was worse than that, so messed up.

'Hn...it was that redhead again...' he thought bitterly as he looked down on his chest, scars from the attack still there, and what's worse, he had a huge wound in his shoulder, which was close to healing, but not completely. 'I'll have to ask Hat-and-Clogs about him...maybe he knows something.'

He stood, frowning as he shook his head.

"Geez...I need to concentrate on training, not that guy!" he scolded no one but himself, getting dressed and walking out of the house, not bothering to eat breakfast. "Nn...what was his name again...? Barakai? Barakai Renji? No, no, it wasn't that...Aberai? No..."

As he pondered, he didn't realize that someone was watching him with intense eyes.

'It's Abarai Renji, you idiot.' he thought bitterly, crossing his arms as he sat in the air, feeling so insulted. 'I don't understand why I had the urge to see him again...he's a guy...and so am I.'

"...hmm..." Ichigo stopped and looked down on the ground, holding onto the handle to his back pack tightly. "Was it...Abarai Renji?"

'Bingo, at last he remembered, geez...'

Ichigo felt himself fall forward, blinking and turning, tapping his hand to the ground and pushing himself back up from the assault seeing another punk that wanted to pick a fight.

'Hn? What're they doing?' Renji thought as he watched the two scuffle, then it multiplied to four against Ichigo, whom was clearly outnumbered. 'What the hell?!'

He was punched, beaten, and battered, left to die bleeding. How was he going to explain to everyone how his shirt got bloody?

Renji hopped down, bending down in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder, the pale form lifting his head and his chocolate eyes widening. "R-Renji?!" he coughed, snapping into a sitting position but falling against the redhead.

"You alright?"

"Nn..." he complied, grabbing at the dark fabric to the shihakusho. "Ya almost kill me...and now you're worried...tch."

"You're bleeding, who wouldn't be?" he frowned. "I'm not your enemy right now."

He stood, lifting the bleeding fifteen year old, his chocolate eyes shut as he leaned his face against Renji's chest, dying from the loss of blood. Of course, Captain Unohana can heal him.

"Just hang in there."

'Why am I helping him?' he questioned himself. 'He needs my help. ...Point taken.'

I changed what happened to Ichigo before he went back to the Soul Society to take Rukia back. Don't kill me.