First Bleach fanfic, feedback would be very much appreciated. Spoilers for whole of SS Arc.
Summary: Renji made a request. Rukia made a decision. Somehow the memories you try the hardest to force down, are ones you remember the most.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
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He found her exactly where he thought he would.
He didn't have to look to know that she was standing on the edge of the cliff, her face facing the center of Soul Society, the wind fluttering through her black hair and white clothes.
He stood behind her, studying the way her hair stuck up at the ends, the way one hand never lingered far from her neck, the way she looked so fragile and delicate in her white robes.
Déjà vu rushed through him as he realized the silence that settled over them was the same as all those years ago. It was the silence before she spoke, the grim silence before she confirmed something both of them knew.
"Na Renji," the wind filtered through her words and delivered it to him in delicate wisps.
He grunted in reply, hating how weak and pained she sounded.
"What should I do?"
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He found her on the bridge of the White Tower, eyes turned to the setting sun in the distance. The dying sun twisted her shadow until it didn't even vaguely resemble her.
Renji was surprised she would come back here; surprised she was strong enough to face the memories of the days before her death row, memories that lingered like the red mark around her neck.
But she always surprises him and so he's not really surprised to find her here.
His mind faintly registered with amusement that that did not make the least bit of sense. But when it came to her, things rarely made sense.
Rukia barely acknowledges him as he leans onto the railings, his eyes also following the redness seeping into the clouds. There was a pregnant pause before he drew a breath and turned to break the silence.
"So…what 'cha ya gona to do now?" His voice came out somewhat forced and strangled.
Even in the dying light he could see the shifting of emotions through her face, human emotions, emotions she hadn't shown in years. Then it all settled to form a mask of indifference, a mask all shinigamis wore, yet a mask that never looked right on her.
"Ukitake-taichou said my spiritual power should recover soon," she breathed in deeply, "so I should be starting my shinigami duties again."
Renji didn't know whether to feel glad or anxious, "So you're be…patrolling your area again?"
There was a faint crack in her mask, "No. I requested to be assigned a new area." Was that a tremor in her voice?
Renji nodded quietly, he forced his face into a neutral expression before he leaned back onto his feet and turned to his childhood friend.
"I…" he faltered, then frowned, "…take care of yourself, Rukia." He patted her on the shoulder reassuringly yet he didn't know if he was reassuring her or himself.
Then he was gone.
Rukia let her mask drop and stared at the almost vanquished sun.
Her black figure was completely still, and her shadows thrashed by her feet.
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Renji walked along the corridors of the Sixth Squad Station, his face set into a scowl. The scowl would have almost looked normal on his face if not for the way his eyes glazed over in thought.
When the heck did Rukia changed so much? Was it during those few worthless months in the human world, or was it from the day she was adopted into the Kuchiki family? Where the hell was he when it happened? Why wasn't he there with her, helping her like a good friend should? And when the heck did life get so freakin' complicated?
Renji asked himself over and over again as the tapping of his feet echoed against the tiles. Each question let to the next and soon there where thousands of questions throbbing in his head, as countless as Byakuya's scattered blades, each of them equally baffling.
The only conclusion he could draw was that it was that kid's fault. Damn him for stealing Rukia's powers, damn him being so stubborn, damn him for changing her so much and damn that stupid, ignorant, cocky kid. Damn, damn, damn, damn, da-
"How is she?"
Renji reeled out of his thought train.
"She's…" he hesitated, not sure what to say.
"Upset." the person finished.
"No, she's…" Renji looked away. "She's…fine," there was a pause, "…taichou."
"I see."
Renji blinked. Byakuya glared.
Renji blinked again and Byakuya still glared. He sighed and wondered what the hell he did to deserve all this.
"Yes taichou?"
"Stop lying." The words were shot at him coldly.
Renji's expression shifted, "I'm telling ya. She's fine."
Byakuya's face hardened and his lips pressed into a thin line.
"Where is she?"
Renji didn't reply.
There was a pause before Byakuya turned and brushed past him. Renji closed his eyes, his mind turning.
Byakuya could just catch a draft of Rukia's faint spiritual power in the distance; he calculated how many Heavenly Steps it would take for him to reach the towers. If his incompetent subordinator refused to answer him, he would just have to see himself.
"Wait." Renji whirled around, "Don't."
Byakuya stood deadly still.
"Don't," he repeated, "just…" Rukia needed time on her own. Renji could see that, no one could help her right now, not her brother, not her captain not even him.
Kuchiki Byakuya disappeared.
Renji breathed out in relief and smiled slightly, he could feel Byakuya's spiritual power on the opposite end of the corridor, away from the tower. Then his smile disappeared as brief as it came.
"Stop lying."
Even Byakuya knew.
He wasn't lying to his captain, he was lying to himself.
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Rukia tilts her head and looks at the now velvety sky, the stars emerges twinkling and shining. They cover the sky entirely, all smiling and laughing at the world below. Their golden heads sparkle and the moon bathes the heavenly bodies with glistering silver and she thinks that never once has the sky ever been this beautiful.
She looks down.
Rukia stares at her feet and wishes for the rain.
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Went over this so many times and it still isn't how I wanted it –sigh-. There are some tense in this I'm not to sure about, especially in the last paragraph. Also the interaction between Renji and Byakuya seems it bit OOC. Blahhh…
Constructive criticism and comments are much appreciated. I don't have a solid plot or paring for this right now, so any suggestions to how the story will go will be considered. Thanks.
Edit May 30, 2006: The last section's tenses are now changed and correct. Thank you to O f f beat who corrected it for me.