The Innkeeper

"I can't believe they misplaced our reservation!" Ichigo yelled as he slammed the car door.

"They don't have a room for us?" Rukia looked puzzled as she knew she made it at least two months in advance.

"Now where the hell are we going to stay in this damn town?" Ichigo hit the wheel and restarted the car.

"There must be another inn around here somewhere. I can't use my phone since there's no service out here."

"Damn vacation guide didn't say anything about no service. Why would they? I only have one bar. I could make a call, but I'd need a number first." Ichigo began driving down the rain filled road. The rain beat down on their car as Ichigo drove down the road. They drove until they came to a dead end and Ichigo was forced to turn around. As the car turned, Rukia noticed a light inside of a very large house. She squinted at the sign above the door, but couldn't read it.

"Hey Ichigo, I think this is an inn. Drive closer to it so I can see the sign." Ichigo drove slowly until he stopped in front of the door. "It says Abarai Inn and, oh, it says vacancy. Let's go in."

"I can get the luggage. You get out here and check in. Here's the card."

"Thanks." Rukia got out and rushed in while Ichigo tried to find a place to park. The large house was turned into a bed and breakfast. Rukia always liked the quiet charm of such places. The door was a deep cherry wood and had diamond shaped windows. She opened the door with some difficulty, but was able to get in and shut the door with some force behind her. The wind did not help in her efforts. As she neared the front desk, she took note that all of the interior that she could see was also a rich, dark wood and there were etchings on the wood. It was beautiful.

She walked up to the counter and was happy she had worn her tall boots, because without them, she'd barely be able to see over the tall counter. The single light on the desk shown to an empty counter. She rang the bell and waited for a moment.

"Be right there!" A deep voice called out. Rukia watched as a very tall man emerged from the dimly lit room behind the counter. He walked up, and she finally could see his face. Her breaths stopped as she could feel her legs turn to jelly. The man had on a simple button up black shirt that had a few of the top buttons unbuttoned and his hair was a fiery red that cascaded down his broad shoulders. She didn't think time could stand still, but it did for her in that moment. Little did she know that the same thing was happening to him at the same time. Finally, he cleared his throat and leaned over the counter.

"Welcome."

"I, uh, do you have a room available at this hour?"

"We do. It's $76."

"I'll take it. Here's my card and license."

The man took the information from her trembling hands and walked away to run the card. Rukia sighed and looked around. "From what I could see, this house has a lot of great woodwork. Do any of your rooms have the same woodwork as down here?"

"Emma's room does. You can have that one."

"Great." She looked out the door to see if Ichigo was coming. She could faintly see him on his phone still in the car. "My name's Rukia Kuchiki." As he came back with paperwork for her to sign.

"Renji Abarai."

"It...it's nice to meet you Mr. Abarai."

"Call me Renji. I'm not a formal person."

She smiled. "Then call me Rukia." She handed him the paperwork and he handed her the key. She grabbed a brochure and read it at the counter. Suddenly, she noticed that it felt like something was wrapped around her right pinky finger. She looked at it and was shocked to find a red thread wrapped around it. It seemed to glow and almost looked like it was floating somewhere beyond this world. At the same time, Renji was writing on the other side of the counter and felt the same thing on his right pinky finger. He put down his pen and lifted his hand. Rukia lifted her hand as well and they both traced the thread with their eyes until it appeared as one strand linking them together. Rukia's eyes watered. Her throat went dry.

"The red string of fate."

"I thought it was just a legend." Renji said softly. They both looked puzzled and amazed at each other. The thread laid on the counter while they both could put their other hand through the thread. Finally, Renji looked at Rukia, whose eyes were just as large as his as the reality of the situation came in. "Rukia, are you the one that is going to be my savior?"

"Savior? I don't think I'm anything like that, but we are linked now by the thread I thought would never exist. This changes a lot of things. What's your email? When we leave here, I want to keep talking to you."

Renji wrote down his email and handed it to her. She folded it up and stuck it in her pocket. She noticed the thread grew and shrank with their movements. After she stuck the paper in her pocket, the thread disappeared. Both were almost glad that it had left. Then they felt like they could move again. They couldn't help but feel the power of the new connection they had. Renji reached over and was about to touch her face when Ichigo came crashing in with the luggage.

"A little help here." Renji pulled his hand away and walked over to help take the luggage. All three headed upstairs in silence. The dimly lit stairs were still beautiful even in the soft light. Rukia went down the hall until she saw a sign that said Emma's room. She opened the door and turned on the light. The dark woodwork was even better in the light. The walls were an emerald green and had various antiques on the walls and around the room. She marveled at the room for a moment before helping the men with the luggage. "Thanks, man."

Renji nodded. "No problem. You two have a nice rest." He looked over longingly at Rukia. She returned his gaze and found herself following him with her eyes until he was out of sight.

"I'm going to go take a shower. That rain soaked me to the bone." Ichigo took off his shirt and walked into the bathroom. He took out a towel and threw his clothes on it until he could hang them up after showering. He took out his phone and placed it on a nearby table. Rukia moved the bags and was changing her clothes when Ichigo's phone buzzed. She walked over to see who it was and saw an old friend, Orihime Inoue calling. She picked up the phone, eager to talk to her old friend.

"Hey Orihime, it's Rukia. How are you doing?"

"Ku..kuchiki-san, is that you?"

"Yeah it's me. I grabbed Ichigo's phone. He's in the shower."

"Oh, I see. Well, could you tell him to call me when he has a minute?"

"Sure no problem. Maybe when we get back from our vacation, we can hang out again. I miss that."

"Yeah, maybe. I'll talk to you later Kuchiki-san. Good night."

"Night." She hung up the phone, not thinking much about it. Ichigo emerged some time later and he checked his phone, then put it back down. Rukia had since forgotten Orihime had called because she was too busy admiring the room. Ichigo climbed into bed with a grumble and placed his phone near his side of the bed.

"Turn off the light. I'm going to bed."

"Sure. I think I'm going to go look around some more." She was hoping this excuse would work so she can go back downstairs and have a conversation with Renji.

Ichigo picked up his phone as a text came in. "Alright. See ya."

"See ya." She turned off the light and shut the door quietly. She moved swiftly down the stairs and saw Renji locking the front door.

"Closing for the night?"

"Yeah, is the room ok?"

"Yeah, it's great. I just didn't want to sleep, so I thought I'd look around down here if that's ok."

Renji turned around and smiled. "I have a bottle of merlot in back. If you'd like, I can take you on a tour."

Rukia smiled. "I'd like that. Thank you Renji."

Renji took out the glasses and poured a drink at the front desk. He handed her the glass and they clinked the glasses.

"To the red string of fate." Renji smiled while he took a sip.

"To the red string."

"That was really strange wasn't it?"

"It was." Rukia took another sip and sat down in the lobby. Renji put some logs in the fireplace and lit it. The flames burned bright and he turned off the lights. "Quite the mood you set here, Renji."

"I'd rather drink with the fire burning than have bright lights."

"Me too." She kicked off her shoes and pulled her legs up onto the couch. Renji sat in the chair next to the couch.

"So, tell me about yourself, Rukia."

"Well, I've been with my boyfriend Ichigo for 6 years. We have our hard times, which is why we went on this vacation. We're trying to work it out. I work at my brother's accounting agency Monday through Friday. That's pretty much it."

"Kids?"

"Nope."

"Me either."

"Did you inherit this place?"

"Yeah, my old man decided he wanted to vacation down south. I have a few workers that come in the clean the place every day, but that's it. It's pretty slow. I work all the time here, so my last girlfriend left me after she decided she didn't want to clean a hotel forever. I've been single for a year."

Rukia's brain started churning. "He's single?" She thought. "How could a handsome man who owns his own business still be single? There has to be a reason."

"You haven't had any girlfriends since then?" Rukia asked. "Are people thinking this is the inn in that horror movie and you're going to kill them in their sleep?"

Renji laughed. "I sure hope not. I've had dates, but all the women around here want a millionaire who can give them everything and they don't have to lift a finger."

Rukia looked right into Renji's eyes. "Those people can shove it."

They both laughed and clinked their glasses again. "I'll drink to that."

They talked for over an hour about anything and everything. Rukia was getting really nervous because she was having a really good time and realized they had a lot in common. Once, when he was gazing at the fire, she could have sworn he was a painting. The way the light of the fire accentuated his collar bone and face made her melt. He was just too perfect for her to imagine. All she wanted to do was curl up on the couch with him and listen to each other's stories. Renji began to yawn.

"Well, I should get to bed. I have to be up at 5 tomorrow."

"Alright. It was really nice talking to you. I think we have a lot in common."

Renji poured water over the flames. "Me too. I hope we can talk again."

"Good night Renji."

"Good night."

Rukia walked slowly up the stairs, watching him the entire time. When she finally reached the room, she could hear Ichigo talking. She put her ear to the door and listened.

"I'm sorry babe, I just can't go through with it. I just can't dump her without a good reason. Yeah, I know we are too different and I always talk like she's a good friend. She is. I'm glad we both are against cheating, but I swear if I wasn't, I'd take you right in your driveway. I know I shouldn't talk like that. Rukia's not here. She's wandering the inn checking out this antiquey crap. You really are a good person. You really do care about other people, don't you? Oh you're getting tired, well I'll let you go. Good night Orihime."

Rukia was on her knees sobbing. He doesn't want to be in the relationship anymore? Why didn't he tell her? She stood up slowly and opened the door. Ichigo was still, but she knew he was awake. She closed the door quietly and quickly changed in the bathroom. As she settled in next to him, she couldn't help but feel an invisible barrier between them. She put her hand and gently squeezed her pillow, crying softly until she fell asleep.

In the morning, they packed up and ate breakfast bars they had brought along. Ichigo told Rukia he was going out for a run before they had to leave. She smiled slightly as he left the room. She sat next to the window and peered out. Soon, she saw Ichigo in the road, his phone in his hand, talking to someone. She had a feeling she knew who it was. She sighed deeply and moved the curtain back. She moved her bags near the door and looked at the antique music box on the dresser. She opened it briefly, then closed it. As soon as the music stopped, a knock came at the door. She was startled by the noise and almost knocked over the music box. She recovered and straightened her dress and hair before opening the old door to a now familiar face.

"Morning Rukia. Did you sleep well?"

"Hi Renji. I did, thank you."

"May I come in?"

"Of course. Watch the bags."

Renji looked down at the floor and back to Rukia. "I saw your boyfriend going out for a run. Does he run a lot?"

"Yeah, most days."

"Are you leaving town now? You live an hour away right?"

"I do. I think we may hang around here for a bit. Who knows."

A smile formed on Renji's face, but Rukia could tell he had something on his mind. "What is it?"

Renji sat on the bed. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about the red string we both saw." He looked up at Rukia. "We have some kind of bond. I've never felt or seen that in my entire life."

Rukia leaned on the bed post. "I know what you mean. I keep thinking about you, I mean keep thinking about the thread and you and what it means."

Rukia moved away from the bed and leaned up against a nearby wall. Renji sat up slowly. "Rukia, do you think I could seal our fate?"

"Seal it with what?"

"Well, a kiss."

"That's so cliché!" Rukia laughed. "I can't believe you said that." Rukia's joking, yet calm tone hid her rapidly accelerating heart rate. Renji looked down and sighed.

"I know. It totally was. Besides, you have a boyfriend."

Rukia clenched her fists. She was reminded of last night. She was still upset with Ichigo for not telling her. She really knew the relationship was down the drain from the moment she got in the car to go on their vacation.

"Ok."

"Ok what?" Renji looked at her with a confused expression.

"Let's seal our fate." She hadn't even closed her mouth from the last word before she could feel herself being lifted. Her back was being pushed against the wall, and she could feel her legs wrap around his waist. In that brief moment, the world stood still. Fate was sealed. Renji used that moment to give her the most passionate kiss either had ever experienced. Rukia wrapped her arms around him tightly and also wrapped her legs around him, taking note about how he smelled and tasted. Sure, she was caught up in the moment, but her senses liked everything she was experiencing. She opened her eyes briefly, and saw the red string again. She grabbed Renji's right hand and held his pinky finger. Renji opened his eyes to also see the string on his finger. He held her closer and they returned their attention to each other.

"And here's my reason."

Both froze as the voice cut through them like a razor. Rukia felt his grip lessen and her legs drop to the ground.

"Ichigo!"

Ichigo shot a glare up to Renji. "Would you excuse us for a minute?"

"Uh, of course." Renji quickly bolted from the room, cursing himself for doing such a bold act. He didn't want to lose business because of this. As he shut the door, he could hear their exchange.

"What the hell was that?!"

"That's for your conversation with Orihime last night!"

"What, what are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about! It was just a kiss, I've seen you kiss other girls."

"Not like that!"

"Well, how else would he kiss me, on his knees?!"

Renji took his spot at the counter and sighed. He was glad no one else was around at the time. The other guests had left already. He took a business card and wrote a note to Rukia on it, including his personal phone number and rewrote his email. He flipped the card around until he could hear a door slam. He saw Ichigo with a few of the bags rushing down the stairs. He exited the inn with a loud bang as the door flew back. Rukia was running behind him. She put her bag down and ran to the counter, tears now streaming from her eyes.

"Thank you." She choked out, placing the key on the counter. She picked up her bag.

"Wait Rukia, take this." Renji ran out and gave her the card as she opened the door. She smiled softly before the door closed. On the card, it read, "Please come back."

Note: I love Renji and Rukia so much. Once again, this was based on a dream I had. I really started to like bed and breakfasts after this. I think I'm going to stay at one just from this wonderful dream.