Disclaimer: I am in no way profiting from this story, I do not own these characters. This is purely for my own amusement, and the amusement of other fans. Enjoy!
"Ichi-nii wake up already!" Ichigo grumbled, flipping over on his futon. Whatever Karin wanted could wait; it was too early to deal with little sisters.
"Ichi-nii!" All he had to do was wait her out. She'd get bored, and he'd get sleep.
BAM! Or not. The door to his room slammed open, Karin marching into the room with Yuzu padding in timidly behind her. "Karin, I don't think-"
"He promised to take us to the beach today! It's our vacation just as much as his!" Karin turned her attention back at Ichigo, who had buried his head under his pillow in defiance. "You! What gives you the right to laze around in bed when you promised your sisters a day at the beach?"
Ichigo sighed. He slid out from under the pillow to give Karin a sideways glance. She huffed at him. "Fine. I'll be ready in 10 minutes, if you two pack the car and grab me a protein bar." What he wouldn't give for Karin to have the same chill demeanor she had had before puberty. Yuzu clapped her hands and giggled, running off to pack for their day trip. "Oh, and I'd better not see any two piece swimsuits. The last thing I need is to pry some pervert offa one of you."
"Sure thing, mommy." Karin stuck her tongue out and made her exit. Ichigo eyed his alarm clock, 9:30 am. Hrm, they did have a little patience. He got up, and kicked the mass of clothing on his floor around, trying to unearth some beach wear. Finding his swim shorts and a suitable shirt, he grabbed a pair of sun glasses and headed down to the kitchen.
"Nu-uh! Orlando is waaaaay hotter than Johnny!"
"Maybe, if you like skeletons."
"For the last time, he is NOT 'man-orexic'. And Johnny is really creepy when he's not Jack Sparrow. Orlando is hot in other roles, have you SEEN Lord of the Rings?"
"Yeah, he dances around like a fairy."
"He's playing an elf!"
"Yeah. A gay elf."
"Ichi-nii! Make her be nice to Orlando Bloom!"
"Will you both just shut up! Neither one of em's hot, and I can't concentrate on not hitting other cars with you two bitching." Ichigo felt a vain pop up on his brow. Twenty minutes of this was more than enough.
"What the hell do you know about hot guys? You're a dude!" Karin glared at him.
"So? I can still tell when some one's ugly or not. And watch yer fuckin' language."
"Why? You swear all the time." Yuzu eyed him in contempt.
"I'm not a young lady. It's not becoming of you two."
The twins snorted at their brother in unison, promptly returning to their bickering, even after Ichigo had parked his Jeep and started to unpack. The quicker he could ditch them and go for a jog, the better.
"...and don't get in anyone's car. I dun care how much of a 'babe' he is or whatever."
"We got it already!"
"Yeah, what do we look like, 5-year-olds that are gonna get picked up by the ice cream man?" Karin rolled her eyes. These teenage girls, they were gonna give him an aneurism.
"You're at prime kidnappin' age! Ya know how many girls your age are raped and murdered every second?"
"Pfft. How many?"
"Neh, I dunno, pro'ly a shit-ton! I shouldn't be lettin' you outta my sight!"
"Aaaaand here you are, about to abandon us to go for a stupid jog. Tsk." Yuzu narrowed her eyes.
"Yeah, well, I have my own mental health to worry about." Ichigo looked to the side.
"What the fuck is that supposed ta mean?"
"It means 'see ya'! Don't get taken away!" Ichigo ran off, throwing his tee shirt behind him. A loud "Bastard!" rang out behind him, Ichigo had half a mind to turn back and lecture his sisters about cussing again.
The rough sand crunched under his bare feet as he ran. This beach wasn't the best looking, and the weather was a bit cold for swimming, but Ichigo liked it that way. It meant less people were out, and less people were always a good thing. A few girls in bikinis waved at him as he ran, they were cute enough, but he didn't pay them any attention. Girls were often more trouble than they were worth. It wasn't like he hadn't gotten his fill on the way there.
He started running out of breath. A drop of sweat ran off his nose, landing on his chest and sliding down, it left a little clean trail as it moved across his torso. Ichigo's little run had taken him far away from any other beach goers, through some trees and into an entirely secluded area. Little rocky pools of water were scattered across the breach here, Ichigo peered into one. It was surprisingly full of life. A little crab scuttled along the sandy bottom of the pool, urchins lay randomly around, poisoned points sharp and deep purple. A few tiny fished swam neurotically around the water.
Ichigo smiled to himself. "You don't get this stuff on any old tourist beach." he mused.
"That's fer sure." A deep voice chuckled, not too far away from Ichigo. Startled, it took every ounce of balance Ichigo could muster to keep himself from falling into the little pool.
"Yer pretty graceful, nyeh?" The chuckling got louder. Ichigo looked up toward the voice. It was a kid, maybe a little older than himself. The guy had a very healthy build, thick arms propping the equally thick torso out of the water, resting on a stone. The kid had been swimming, wet dark red hair flipped back and hanging around tattooed shoulders. The tattoos snaked over most of his body, Ichigo let his eyes follow the black lines.
"See sumthin' ya like?"
Ichigo wouldn't take the bait, it was too cliche for him. "Yeah, nice ink." He smirked, the kid raised an eyebrow.
"Oh yeah? Did most of it m'self." He beamed, proudly flexing an arm, displaying his handy work.
"Yer a pretty talented guy. Do ya work at a parlor around here?"
"Nah, it's just a hobby." The guy smirked at Ichigo, who found himself strangely enjoying the other boy's gaze.
A moment of silence passed. Ichigo looked at his feet awkwardly before making a show of stretching his arms. "I'm Ichigo, if you care."
"Renji. And I think I do care, Ichigo." Renji purred. Were they flirting? Ichigo threw him a crooked smile, furrowing his brow. "So, I haven't seen you out here before. I'd remember a guy with hair like that."
Ichigo scowled. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling unusually self conscious. "Yer one to talk, with that lion mane you've got growing there. My family comes up here nearly every summer, but only for 'bout a week."
"Ah, I see, I see. I guess I'm what ya could call a... local." Renji chuckled. He popped down into the water, remerging, flipping his long hair in an arch of glistening red and water. Ichigo gulped. It'd been awhile since he'd been all that attracted to anyone, especially a dude. He'd have to watch out.
"Ya don't seem so sure about that. Don't you know were ya live?" Ichigo smirked. He'd have to put all his effort into keeping his cool around this guy, but he could manage.
"Pfft. I totally know where I live, how mentally damaged do I seem to ya?" Renji rested his chin in his hands.
"Eh, ya seem fine ta me, but what do I know? You could be a flamin' retard."
"Hey, what if I was a retard? Callin' me one would just be offensive."
"If you're together enough to be offended, ya prolly aren't all that retarded."
Renji chuckled again; Ichigo decided he liked the sound. "Fair enough."
"So, really, do ya live here or not?"
"I do."
"Close to the beach?"
"Nah. Right here. Well, pretty much right here."
Ichigo was taken aback. "Like, living ON the beach?" He was flirting with a homeless dude? Awesome.
"Nah, like in the water."
Ichigo scowled. What kind of game was this kid playing? "What?"
"Do you like me, Ichigo?"
"Again: what?"
"Like, do you think I'm cute or whatever."
"Well sorta... I've known you for what, 20 minutes? Not even?"
"Hrmm, I wanna show you something, but I dunno if I should."
"You're freaking me out a lil', man."
"Ah, what the hell. I already shouldn't have been talking to a sandy. How much more trouble could I get in?"
"A sandy?" This vague bullshit was getting less cute by the second.
"C'mon over here." Renji made a show of gesturing with his index finger and winking.
Ichigo stood up, hesitated, then slowly crept toward the boy in the water.
"I'm not gonna bite ya. Unless you're into that." Renji smirked.
"Screw you." Ichigo stuck out his tongue.
"Oh baby." Ichigo rolled his eyes, approaching the outcrop Renji was resting on.
He wasn't prepared for what he saw.
"Wha- what kind of joke is this?"
"Not a joke." Renji pulled him self up out of the water. He was kneeling, if you could call it that, on a long, gray shark tail. Not even at his full height, he looked down on Ichigo.
"Holy fuck, man." Ichigo gaped, eyes all but popping out of his head.
"Touch it if you want. It's all real." Renji grabbed Ichigo's hand, pulling it along his hip, with the scales so that it was smooth to the touch.
"I totally hit my head, didn't I?"
Author's Notes: It's short, but this felt like a good place to end. I usually don't care for Renji x Ichigo, but it seemed these characters fit best for what I'm trying to accomplish. If it's hard to tell which twin is saying what, I'm sorry, but I hate having to announce who's saying what every time I want to write dialogue. I didn't beta this, but I did do a little editing as I went, please let me know about typos.
Reviews are appreciated!