It's been six years since Aizen's defeat. Soul Society is in peace. Many things have changed. There are some new Captains and Lieutenants. The new Central 46 doesn't have the power it once held. The substitute Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki got his power back and was promoted as Captain of Squad Five. Many more got promoted as there were so many open positions in the Gotei 13. Sajin Komamura had died of his severe injuries after his battle against Aizen. Everything started to go in normal ways as the the new Captains and their Lieutenants got into a routine.
Chapter One
Renji Abarai, Captain of Squad Seven, was on his way back to Seireitei after a mission in the 76th district of Rukongai. He was in a foul mood since the Head- Captain had send him on this mission.
Normally stuff like this would be the job of a Lieutenant but since Squad 7 was currently without a Lieutenant …... Yeah, Renji was in a very foul mood. It wasn't his fault that there was not one single Officer who could do the job in his opinion.
All the people that were qualified for being a Lieutenant were already in other Squads. Rukia was the Lieutenant of Squad 5 under Ichigo, Momo was currently Kira's Lieutenant in Squad 3, Ikkaku now held his old position in Squad 6, Yumichika was stranded in the 9th Division under Hisagi and good old Tetsuzaemon had switched to Squad 13. There was no one left for his Division.
And so he had to do all the hated paperwork and every fucking little mission himself. He was so deep in thought that it took him several minutes to notice that it has started to rain.
Ohhh you must be be kidding! Looking up at the thick clouds he cursed some more. It was still a two-day-march back to Seireitei and even if he used Shunpo he would most likely not make it today. Resigning, he made his way toward the next small village which was the center of the 74th District.
He knew some of the villagers and hoped that they would let him stay for the night. The ground was getting slick from the heavy rain so he had to watch his every step as to not land face first in the mud. After about twenty minutes he arrived at the village.
He was soaked from head to toe. His normally red ponytail was now a dark maroon, his captain's haori dripping with rain and his hakama felt as if the weight had doubled from all the rain and mud. He looked around and saw all the run-down shacks that were lined up on either side of the path that ran through the small village.
It was dark now and there was not a single light in one of the houses. Renji almost instantly had the feeling that something wasn't right. Even with the bad weather and the late hour there should be at least some people still awake. His hand went to Zabimaru's hilt and he searched for any sign of reiatsu in the vicinity.
There! Sixty feet to his right in the woods was someone hiding. He turned in the direction of the source and started walking toward the trees. The rain fell even heavier than before. Squinting his eyes he stepped into the wood all the while keeping track on the reiatsu. Behind a tree Renji saw something. A piece of cloth.
He let go of Zabimaru and with one flash-step he was in front of the person. Before he could so much as blink he doubled over from a vicious kick in his stomach and found himself lying face first in the mud after he got an elbow to his neck.
What the hell?
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She was running. Where, she had no idea as long as it was away from wherever she was right now and the giant she had just knocked out. She was confused. Where the hell was she? How did she get here?
The last thing she remembered was being at home in her bed sleeping. And when she woke up she was in this forest and this man suddenly appeared before her out of nowhere. She hadn't even really looked at him before her training took over and she had kicked him in the gut and then send him to the ground with an elbow to the neck. And now she was running between the huge trees through the heavy rain.
Thanks to her years of training she was fast and had the stamina to keep this pace for a while. But she was getting cold. Her bare feet sank into the squashy earth, her long black pyjama pants were completely soaked and the white tank top she wore clung to her body. Thick black tresses of hair were sticking to her arms and back.
She left the woods and was out on some kind of field. As far as she could see (and that wasn't very far since it was dark and raining) there was just plain land.
Shit! There was no place to hide. She had two options. One: run back into the woods with the risk of facing this giant again. Two: run on over the fields in hopes of finding somewhere to hide. Taking a deep breath she decided for option two and started to run again.
Mud splashed and the rain drummed onto her. She couldn't see much for the water in her eyes but it didn't matter. She just ran and ran. Until she heard a deep growl behind her and was pushed onto the ground.
Something heavy was on her back and pushed her even deeper into the wet earth. She grabbed behind her and touched something that felt like a wrist. So, her attacker was pushing her down with his left shin and hand. Too bad for you! In one swift movement she grabbed his wrist while kicking his right leg. The slick ground helped her with this move.
He lost his balance and the weight on her back lifted. She turned to kick him once more but he caught her leg with one big hand. Bringing out her other leg she aimed for his chest and hit him. She heard a deep grunt and than his second hand was on that leg and she was pulled forwards flat on her back.
Shit! The giant was on top of her in the next moment. Her hands pinned above her head and her legs pushed down by his much bigger ones.
Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!
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Renji was furious. All he had wanted was a dry spot for the night to rest and then head back home. And what had he got? He got kicked in the gut, had to run through a forest in pursue of his attacker, some wrestling in the mud and all the while the fucking rain pelted down on him. He wanted to kill something.
He took a deep breath to keep his temper in reign. His attacker was lying under him restrained by his weight. He tried to free himself by thrashing from side to side without success. For the first time Renji became aware of what was lying under him.
He could feel that whoever that was was very small. About 5'1'' would be his guess. The wrists he held were so tiny he could break them without any effort. His chest pressed against something soft. Were that boobs?
"Oi! Stop that thrashing will ya?"
His deep voice boomed against the noise of the falling rain. The thrashing stopped.
"So, who are you?"
He heard something but couldn't make out the words. He leaned his head down and was greeted with a head nut. Blood splattered from his nose and he cursed foully but didn't let go.
"Ohh, you will regret this!"
He took hold of both wrists with on hand and brought the other down to a slender neck. His fingers slid around and with a miniscule of pressure he took a firm hold. He lowered his head once again until his face was near an ear. He growled in low and menacing tones.
"I'll ask this one last time and you will answer or I'll break that little neck I'm holding. Who the hell are you?"
There was silence for a moment. He could feel an erratic pulse under the tips of his fingers. Whoever that was was frightened.
"Tatsuki. Tatsuki Arisawa. And if you don't let go of me I'll castrate you with spoon, you stupid asshole!"
Nope, not frightened but pissed. And definitely a pissed woman. So that really were boobs.
Hmmmm! Wait! This is not the time to think about something like that. He scolded himself.
"Okay. Tatsuki. Next question: What are you doing here?"
The trashing started again and he let her until she stopped after a minute. He felt her sigh more than he heard it.
"Obviously, dumbass, I'm lying in the mud and enjoy the sunny weather before I start kicking your sorry ass again!"
He had to give her credit, she had courage.
"Interesting. I'm curious how you wanna do that since you're pinned down right now. But let's continue. Why did you attack me?"
She chuckled.
"You gotta be kidding me. What would you do if some giant just pops out of nowhere in front of you in a dark forest in the middle of the night, butt-head?"
Renji thought about that for a moment.
"Okay, I'll give you that one. Have you any idea what happened back there in the village?"
"What village?"
She sounded as if she really had no idea what he was talking about.
"The village that was about 20 feet away from the place you were hiding."
He was losing his patience. He was cold and wet and tiered.
"I've got no idea what you are talking about. I came awake in this god-forsaken forest without knowing where I am or how I got there and the next thing I see is YOU standing in front of me all of a sudden. So, no, I've got no idea what happened there."
A shiver started to run through her body and he guessed she must be freezing by now considering her bare arms.
"If I'll let go of you and let you get up will you start running again or punching or kicking me or can we talk like two civilized grown-ups?"
She sight again.
"Okay" was all she said.
Renji withdrew his hand slowly from her neck and put it next to her head on the ground to push some of his weight off her torso. She breathed deeply as if her lungs hadn't had the chance with him on top.
He rolled off her body and let go of her wrist and with one graceful move he was back on his feet. She was still lying there on the ground, the rain falling down on her. He could barley see her in the dark. Just the outline of her body. She got up slowly and with care until she stood before him. As he had thought, she was small.
