Title: Chapter One: Light in the Window
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 815
Warnings: some language, implied character death
Characters: Renji, Ichigo, a mention of Rukia
Pairings: nothing this chapter, eventually Ichigo/Renji (probably will be some Shunsui/Ukitake in there somewhere too xD)
Notes: Part of a belated Hannukah giftfic for my lovely spikykun . Will probably not be one chapter for every day of Hannukah like planned, because calculus and my muse both suck. xD But there will be eight installments at some point! D;;
It was past midnight, but nowhere near close to dawn. It was that in between hour- after the partiers and studying students had finally collapsed, but before the average worker had begun to stir. The roads were silent, and the streetlights were dim. If you happened to be out and about, sleepily shuffling down the sidewalk, you probably would not be disturbed. However, if you happened to be… special… you might have been jerked fully awake by a black figure whipping by, leaping from roof to roof.
The figure smirked to himself as the scenery blurred past, actually pleased that the hour was so late. Waking him up at this time should piss the bastard off. He snickered.
However, disappointment and a bit of confusion flowed through him as he reached his destination and spotted the light on in the upper bedroom. He frowned. What the hell?
He slid open the window and landed on the futon, watching with amusement as the room's inhabitant leapt to his feet and whirled around, his hand automatically reaching for a sword that wasn't there. As his wide eyes took in the identity of the intruder, he calmed down, his hand relaxing at his side.
"You bastard." He growled, aiming a kick at the intruder's head. The intruder avoided it easily and glared half heartedly at him.
"Hi to you too. Ch." He said, stepping off the futon and glancing around the room. It hadn't changed much since the last time he'd been here, but he was beginning to wonder if Ichigo had. The desk Ichigo had been sitting at had papers scattered all over it, and Renji stepped closer, interested in seeing the reason Ichigo was up so late, only to be met with angry eyes and a punch to the face. Renji leapt back. "Geez. Touchy."
Ichigo turned around and quickly gathered the papers up and dropped them into a drawer, slamming it closed with a loud bang. He turned back around and leaned against the desk, quite obviously blocking the drawer. The two studied each other for a moment, Ichigo's gaze taking in Renji's new clothes.
"They must've been desperate, huh?" He smirked, and Renji scowled at him.
"Shut up." He growled, though he knew that it was at least partially true. With how the war had been going, Soul Society needed all the leadership they could get as they tried to keep everything from falling apart. He glanced away, but then looked back as something occurred to him. "Yeah, they are. Desperate enough to want you."
Ichigo stared at him in shock. "What?"
"That's what I'm here for. To convince you to help."
"Why the hell would I help you guys?" He snarled, his voice full of anger and… something else.
At that question, Renji flinched, the obvious answer punching him in the stomach. Lately Renji had become very good friends with denial, and that was what had gotten him here without freaking out. He suddenly felt light headed.
"So you can prevent what happened to… Rukia… from happening to anyone else." Renji finally answered, for the first time alluding to the reason behind some of the tension in the room, and the reason why Renji had been chosen for this assignment. Something that neither one of them wanted to talk about.
Renji could see Ichigo swallow, and he watched Ichigo look away. A strange expression flashed across Ichigo's face, one that Renji could not quite decipher. "Taichou, eh? What the hell. It's not like I have anything better to do, here. Tell them sure."
His eyes widened. In truth, he had not really expected Ichigo to accept. Ichigo's feelings toward Soul Society were ambivalent at best, and he knew Ichigo cared about his family very much. He knew that Ichigo had been affected by Rukia too, but he wondered what else had changed. But he could see that Ichigo didn't want to talk about it, at least not yet.
"… good, I guess." He finally answered lamely, not really knowing what to say.
Ichigo hmph'ed and crossed his arms over his chest, still looking away. "When?"
"As soon as possible…" He replied slowly, "They said to give you time to say goodbye… Say, a week?"
The younger man nodded. "That works."
"…I'll be back in a week, then." Renji said, moving toward the window, uncomfortable with the tension in the room. He wiped his sweaty hands against his haori.
But Ichigo still didn't look at him, and Renji stopped. "Ichigo… are you sure about this?" He questioned, his voice strange, and Ichigo finally looked at him. Their eyes met.
"Yes. I am. I need to do this." Ichigo answered, his familiar determination in his voice, and Renji suddenly felt better. Renji nodded at him, and then turned and leapt out into the night, disappearing into the darkness.
He didn't see Ichigo watch him go.