01: Literacy
"Where the hell'd you get this thing from?"
"It's a book, Renji. I found it last time we were in town," Rukia replied, sighing. Of course, by "found," she meant "stole," but she was confident Renji could figure that out by himself. It wasn't as if they had any money, let alone spare money.
Renji moved the book from his right hand to his left as if he was weighing it before opening it and staring at the foreign symbols quizzically.
"Y'know, I didn't think anyone in Rukongai even had books. I mean, there's no schools for learnin' to read or nothing," He said after finally putting the book down, satisfied that staring at the symbols wouldn't uncover the secrets painted in the letters.
"Anything," Rukia corrected, picking up the book and holding it close to her chest. Usually, at this point, Renji would call her an annoying know-it-all, but instead they lapsed into a comfortable silence.
That night, Rukia found Renji holding the book again, staring at the illustration of old man on the cover.
"Do you want to know what it 's about?" She asked, coming up from behind him. Renji jumped slightly, and dropped the book, embarrassed.
"Don't scare me like that, midget!"
Rukia twitched at the slight, but ignored it for the time being. She'd get back at him later.
"It's a play about an old king named Lear. I think it's from overseas somewhere."
"What happens to 'im?" Renji said, leaning against a tree and trying his hardest to feign disinterest.
"Well," Rukia said carefully, noting the obvious curiosity in Renji's eyes, "I haven't read it yet, so I can't tell you."
"Oh."
"And summarizing is really dull, so it'd probably be easier if we just read it together."
Renji opened his mouth, ready to confess his illiteracy (although he was sure that Rukia already knew), when she flipped the book open and interrupted him.
"Scene one. Enter Kent, Gloucester, and Edmund. Kent: I thought the King had more affected the Duke of Albany than Cornwall."
And they next few evenings were spent under the crabapple trees, with Rukia reading aloud and Renji listening intently, interrupting only to ask relevant questions.
It was the fourth time Rukia had read King Lear.
AN: And so begins my Renji/Rukia drabble collection!