I was listening to Ruslana's song 'Heart on Fire' when the idea of a song-fic and the image of Renji dancing to this song came to mind. From that little idea I developed this story. I really suggests listening to the song to put you in the mood of the story. (On YouTube there is a great performance where everyone is wearing white costumes. It's a great performance and the video is usually the second one when you search for this song. While writing this story I left that video constantly playing in the background.) I hope you enjoy this. :)
I do not own Bleach or the song 'Heart on Fire'. Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo. 'Heart on Fire' belongs to Ruslana
You Have Put My Heart On Fire
Renji had always been a good dancer even though he had never been trained. He actually never had the money to do so. Yet dancing had always found its way into his life. When he was still studying at the small public school in his town, the members of the drama group were always pestering him to help out with the choreography in musicals. Musicals which were always done as fundraising for the school but never brought in enough profit to make much change. When he grew older he would also resort to dancing and stripping whenever he needed some quick money. He was always surprised at how easily he was employed. Although with his kind of appearance he should have been surprised if he didn't get the jobs: he was tall, well built, his hair was flaming red and black tribal tattoos covered his body.
However, apart from that he never thought that dancing would bring much else to his life. Then Ichigo, a friend of his told him about a local singer who had just gotten her first record deal and was building a dance troupe to tour with her. Ichigo said he was thinking about auditioning and urged Renji to do the same. At first the redhead wasn't so eager but then he realised that he didn't really have anything to lose. They weren't sure they would be chosen since so many professional dancers had applied. Still they got through. Later on they were told that apart from having obvious talent for being amateurs, they also had striking appearances and characters which set them apart from the rest.
Now they are still part of the twelve-person troupe which had started two years before. They had all been ordered to let their hair grow down to their waists which was a great idea since they all had unusual hair colours and for once Renji wasn't the odd one out regarding hair. Rangiku, the singer had light orange hair which in some light appears blonde. Both Harribel and Shinji were blondes. Orihime's hair was dark orange while Ichigo's hair was a much brighter shade of orange. Yoruichi sported a purple mane. Neliel's hair was a bluish green while Grimmjow's was light blue. Only Kenpachi, Kukaku and Byakuya had relatively normal hair since it was black. Yet even they were asked if they dyed it since it seemed impossibly black. Nobody believed that all the performers' hair colours were natural. Whenever he thought about it, Renji always concluded that the people in the group all had some wacky pigment genes.
Yet none of this was going through his mind right now. It was the middle of the concert and it was the time Rangiku always reserved for a tribute performance. Today it was the song 'Heart on Fire'. Renji had instantly liked the song when he heard it for the first time. It was a powerful song and their choreography was equally powerful especially since some of it was lifted from the original performance by the recording artist. It required a lot of energy but none of them seemed to have any problems with endurance, even the more graceful and delicate dancers like Byakuya and Orihime. Renji revelled in the wild, tribal beat of the song but he also had another reason to look forward to the next three minutes. The dance put him right next to the person who had been on his mind for so many months as they worked together. This was none other than Rangiku. What had started as simple friendship and a good professional relationship had turned into stronger feelings in Renji's heart. Feelings that he didn't know whether they were reciprocated and he never dared to ask since he was afraid of putting this job that he had grown to love in jeopardy.
The first strains and beats of the song were heard as they all threw themselves into a series of jumps and kicks. The dancers then were on the ground as Rangiku sang the first verse.
No, I don't understand it why, why
All I am thinking of is you, why
No, I can't get it, tell me why, why
You are the man I'm running to, why
As he crawled and tumbled along the stage Renji couldn't help but admit that the verse was exactly how he was feeling…if only one changed the word 'man' to 'woman'.
Hey, hey, hey
The dancers get up in three groups, according to each 'hey'.
Oh I know I'm getting wild
When you look at me like that
You have put my heart on fire
And it makes me go mad
Stomp, thrust, stomp. Turn, turn, turn. Shake hair, stomp, bend forward and back up.
'Cause I know I'm getting wild
When you're touching me like that
You have put my heart on fire
You're the one I can't forget, hey
Jump, jump, land feet apart. Punch up, up, then down with the other arm. Pump arms as if crossing them. Hand to head and turn head.
Music…another series of jumps and turns which makes everyone change places in order to pair up: Neliel with Grimmjow, Kukaku with Kenpachi, Yoruichi with Byakuya, Harribel with Shinji, Orihime with Ichigo and of course Renji with Rangiku.
We are as fire burning bright, fire
You are the day and I'm the night, fire
I am the dark and you're the light, fire
You fight to live, I live to fight, why
Left arms meet left shoulders. The pairs turn around slowly. Renji looks at Rangiku with the intensity of a raging fire. He had gotten so many compliments regarding his acting skills during rehearsals because of that look. Little did anyone know that the gaze wasn't acting but pure lust…Each person steps away from their partner, arms sliding away from each other…another turn takes them farther away.
Hey, hey, hey
Everyone slides back towards their partner
Oh I know I'm getting wild
When you look at me like that
You have put my heart on fire
And it makes me go mad
Body wave against each other. Renji concentrates hard not to grab Rangiku and kiss her there and then. Step back. Left arms interlock again, this time at the wrists and the performers lean and bend backwards as far as they can.
'Cause I know I'm getting wild
When you're touching me like that
You have put my heart on fire
You're the one I can't forget, hey
The men get behind the women. Renji slides one hand round Rangiku's waist and the other down her outer thigh as they bend their knees slightly and she leans her head back against his shoulder. He takes a deep breath and is amazed to notice that she still smells of cherries and sugar while he probably smelled of the sweat that was rolling down his tattooed forehead…The dance goes on as they straighten and stomp march backwards.
The next moments are a blur as the dancers do cartwheels and backflips while Rangiku belts out repeated lines of 'Just fire'.
The chorus is repeated twice and the choreography for the first two choruses is repeated as well. A few more jumps, kicks and the final line of 'Just fire' brings the couples together again, this time facing each other with the men holding up the women's right leg from under their knee like the famous tango pose. This leaves Rangiku and Renji looking at each other, panting from the exertion and smiling from the sheer rush they got from performing. The moment was then broken as they all separated and bowed to the audience's ecstatic clapping, shouting and whistling.
As Renji was going to turn around and walk to his position for the next song, Rangiku extended her arm to give him a fist bump which they always shared during rehearsals after a particularly good routine. He returned the gesture wishing he could do much more. She faced the audience again, thanked them for their enthusiasm and introduced the next song. 'No,' he thought as he shook his head in acceptance 'this could only ever be friendship. Nothing more.'
~The End~
I hope you liked this! Reviews, comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.