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It was cold and she was hungry, they were both hungry. It was raining, her clothes were torn, he held her to keep her warm, it didn't mean anything, not to her anyway. It was so cold, they wouldn't survive the night if this kept up, they were going to die.
When they left the town it was already late in the afternoon. They didn't have much food, but that wasn't a new thing for the boy. He always had little to no food at all anyway, so he was used to it. The girl on he other hand, was already starving.
She knew that it was dumb of her to insist that they press on during the night, saying that it wouldn't rain and that if it did, it wouldn't be bad, they could survive it. How on earth could she have known that sudden rainstorms were normal during the night? She was usually asleep by the time it happened.
She looked at her companion, carrying her while they walked as they tried to find a place where the rain wouldn't get them. She had stumbled earlier, and her ankle was a bit swollen.
"Not big enough to be broken," the boy said confidently. "Don't worry, I'll carry you."
"No!" she had protested, she never liked the feeling of having to rely on anyone. "I can walk"
She demonstrated a few steps but she was slow, too slow. The boy sighed as he picked her up without much effort. She gave a bit of a struggle, but gave up as soon as she felt the warmth from his body, it was comfortable and as much as she didn't want to, she fell asleep.
She woke up when her companion shook her awake. He set her down when she gave him a look, and turned to see what made the red-head wake her. There was someone not far from them. He had already seen them and they knew it. They had no other choice but to walk up to him.
"Oi! Kids! Come here."
A smiling man called out to them, he had a fire going under the overhang of a tree. He seemed safe enough, but grownups should never be trusted. The two approach him warily, eyeing the sword that was beside him.
"Come on! Sit down! Sit down!"
Close up he was a middle-aged man, black hair, beginnings of a beard, nothing special. He held out some food.
"Go on, don't be shy."
She looked at him questioningly, while her companion reached out and tried the food first. He passed her some when he figured out that it was safe. The man just smiled.
"I'm Isshin, Isshin Kurosaki."
Silence, the girl stared at Isshin with big purple eyes, as if trying to determine what his intent was. The boy was scowling, usually people who introduced themselves wanted something in return, then again Isshin did feed them and get them warm. His gut told him that the stranger wasn't bad but his mind told him not to trust grownups. He decided to stick with his gut.
"My name is Renji Abarai. Thanks for the food and the warmth."
Isshin grinned. He liked kids, these two were no exception, even though the girl still didn't seem to trust him. Renji seemed to realize that the girl still didn't come closer and turned to look at her, asking a question with his eyes as his brown ones locked on to her violet ones. Her eyes shifted, as if she decided on something, she looked him in the eye and in a clear voice told him:
"I am Rukia."
It turned out that Isshin was the leader of a local mercenary group, the Kurosaki Mercenaries. He was an okay sort of person, for an adult that is. Renji enjoyed the stories he told. Rukia was amazed that someone who looked like he did could be so gentle as he bandaged her ankle.
"It should be fine to walk on by tomorrow," he told her as soon as he finished tying the cloth. "You should get some rest though. It's a long way to anywhere. So, where are you exactly going?"
"We have no place to go," Rukia informed him. Anyone with eyes filled with gentleness as Isshin's deserved to be trusted. "We're orphans."
"Yeah," Renji pipped in. "Rukia and I met just the day before yesterday, but we're in the same boat. She's really good in a fight though. Wouldn't want to get on her bad side."
"You two got in a fight?"
"No," Renji told him. "I got in a fight and Rukia came to help me. She didn't even know me."
"You were outnumbered," Rukia reminded him.
"I could've taken them," he countered, crossing his arms and nodding his head to emphasize his point.
"There were five of them," Rukia said, smirking at her friend. "And they were older than you."
"I still could've taken them!" Renji countered. "I thinkā¦"
Isshin looked at Rukia's smirking face and then at Renji's and laughed. The two might've had a tough life, but they were still young and somewhat innocent. It was at that moment that Isshin knew what he had to do.
"Well since you two don't have anywhere to go," Isshin smiled. "Come join my group! We're just a small band, but we're like family. I'm sure we could find something for you to do there so you won't be freeloaders."
"We can?" Rukia asked, skeptical that someone would just offer a place for them. "Go with you I mean."
"Of course you can!" Isshin replied, his smile getting wider. "My Masaki would just love another son and daughter! And my Ichigo needs more playmates than just Chad, cause Uryuu never does anything but read." When they just blinked at him, he rushed to explain. "Masaki's my beautiful amazing goddess of a wife and Ichigo's my son. He's just about your age Rukia. So, you wanna come along? Being a mercenaries no walk in the park, but I bet it'll be easy for the two of you, and I'll teach you how."
The two children looked at each other and within seconds they grinned. As they turned to face Isshin, he already knew what their answer was.
"We'll go."
There you go, prologue one. This is going to be Ichiruki sometime in the future I promise!
Coming up: Ichigo's first meeting with Rukia and he thinks...she's a guy? Oh well, stay tuned,
Sorry for all grammar and spelling errors I may have commited. Reviews are loved, considered, and appreciated. THANKS!
