For The Love of a Twin
Chapter 1- A Broken Reiatsu
Renji was dozing in the chair at Urahara's shop after a quiet evening celebrating Kon's birthday. They needed some reason to get together, really. His birthday was just an excuse. The old gang spent the evening talking about the old times which seemed so long ago but wasn't really. The teens were preparing to go off to college in the fall and he would head back to the Soul Society, so in a way, this was to be one of a series of final parties.
He worked hard today to prepare the shop for the busy Monday crowd and he was tired. His gigai always seemed to be tired, even when he drank that foul coffee stuff. Deciding that sleep on the futon was a much better idea, he stumbled in the darkness to the futon. It was cold and the warm blanket felt good on his skin. He shivered. Why he was still in his gigai, he didn't know, but he was too tired to make a change.
His eyes were fluttering closed but he was still thinking. Rukia, I miss you. Even though he knew there wasn't much of a chance they'd ever be together. He started to doze off again.
And then his eyes flickered open. At the same time he heard a noise coming from the back of the shop and leaving his gigai behind, he felt instantly awake. Urahara came running through the door, looking disheveled.
"What is that reiatsu?" They both asked at the same time. "It's in torment."
"My denrei shinki isn't going off." Renji said, looking at his device.
"It's not a Hollow. I'm sure of it," stated Urahara while rubbing his chin. They both looked puzzled, it could be anything. "Your off-duty…..let the local patrol handle it."
"Eh, I could use the exercise. I'm wide awake now. I'll go check it out in case they need help." He said, while adjusting his zanpakuto.
"Have fun," joked Urahara and went back into the shop.
It didn't take long for him to find the source of the broken reiatsu but it puzzled him. He felt like a peeping tom as he spied at the young woman who was sleeping soundly on a futon in a very small apartment on the other side of town. Her reiatsu flared off of her in blue and yellow waves. Why was her reiatsu flaring like that? He thought. Was she human? And if she wasn't, could she sense him?
The local patrol hadn't shown up yet but he knew there were a few Hollows in the area and they probably hadn't had time to check it out. It had been a busy night for Hollows. Now he knew why.
He saw her eyes flutter in her sleep and then open. By instinct, he ducked but surmised he remained unnoticed. She sat quickly up and turned on the light. She was shaking, her brow furrowed and she put her head in her hands. Her reiatsu flared, this time an angry red color. Renji felt like he was hit with a fist in his stomach. His levitation wavered and he tried to stabilize himself when he heard her phone ring. She reached for it.
"Hello," she said in English. "Mom? It's so late. What's going on?" Renji didn't know English very well, but he caught a few words. She rubbed her eyes.
She shook harder. "No, I just talked to her. She had bought her plane ticket." She said, her voice shaking. "That can't be true." She sobbed. "No!" She yelled and threw the phone across the room. It shattered. He reiatsu turned the color of fire.
She bolted. In her pajamas and bare feet she ran outside the apartment and down the street, tears trailing after her. Renji followed her. Her reiatsu screamed as it sent out wave after wave of energy. She came to the riverbank and sank down on her heels, sobbing uncontrollably. Renji hated to see her crying, he wanted to do something, but in his soul form, there was nothing he could do. And her reiatsu seemed broken, searching for something. What had happened to make her cry like that? Someone close to her had died, he was sure of it. He landed next to her and contemplated what to do. He wanted to contact Urahara but he didn't want to leave her alone. Her reiatsu was sure to attract Hollows.
She was cold and her body shook in the winter air, her sobbing breaking the stillness of the night. Renji's denrei shinki gave a sudden beep and she choked back her sobs and turned to look at him, noticing him for the first time. Renji startled when he looked into her tear filled eyes. She could see him. Dummy, he thought to himself, her reiatsu was active, of course she could see you.
She squinted at the form. "Am I making too much noise?" She asked in Japanese, her eyes filled with tears. He finally got a good look at her face. He recognized her; the pretty English tutor the kids at the High School talked about. He could see why they talked about her. She was cute. Even with her face smeared with tears, she was still cute. She was a haafu….half-American or half-British or something, he couldn't remember, but he remembered her name. Motomi Sasaki. Luckily, he didn't last long enough there to need a tutor so she probably wouldn't recognize him.
"Uhhhh," he said, suddenly not knowing what to say. Her reiatsu was starting to give him a headache.
"I could use a tissue, please." Luckily, he had one and handed it her. Their hands brushed lightly and Renji felt their energy comingle for a second, and then her reiatsu backed off. He wasn't the one it was searching for. She didn't seem to notice.
She dabbed her eyes lightly and looked up at him. "Thank you," She said, trying not to sob again. "I will just go….." She rose.
She stopped and with her eyes clearer she noticed his sword and his attire. She froze. It was two in the morning, she was out in her pajamas and this man was standing there with a sword and wearing a shihakusho. He saw the look of panic in her eye.
She bolted again. "Wait," he called after her. "Wait, I'm not going to hurt you." He tried to flash step to catch up with her but his head was pounding. And she seemed to be fast. Her reiatsu flared bright red again as she turned around the corner. He ran after her.
"Please," he called. He was catching up with her. She had stepped on glass and was trailing blood everywhere. But she still ran. She tripped and fell, stopping where she fell. She rose up on her knees and bowed her head, resigned to her fate.
"If you're intending on killing me, please do it quick so I can be with my twin sister." She asked, shaking. She had heard the story of gangs going around killing haafus. It was an urban myth but it had always terrified her that it could be true.
"Wha… I'm not going to kill you." He said, kneeling down to look at her cut. "Your twin? You lost your twin?" It made sense now. Twins sometimes shared a soul. It didn't happen often, but it happened. If one had died . . . he put the thought aside.
"Are you late for a cosplay convention?" She managed to ask, wiping tears with the back of her hand.
He didn't know what the hell she was talking about. But he didn't have time to clarify. A Hollow sounded nearby just as his denrei shinki beeped.
"Shit," he muttered. "Stay here and don't move." The Hollow was close by, attracted like a shark to blood by her flaring reiatsu.
"What the fuck?" He heard her say in English, her eyes growing wider. If he could see him, she could see the Hollow.
He used his zanjutsu quickly to take the hollow out, who was inching towards Motomi. She didn't scream, didn't move, just sat frozen. He put his zanpakuto away just as a few members of the local patrol came running up.
"You're late." He stated flatly.
"Sorry Fukutaicho Abarai," they answered breathlessly while bowing. "But there were two Hollows a few blocks away."
Probably around Motomi's apartment, he thought. He leaned down and looked into Motomi's eyes. She looked away, afraid. Her reiatsu was now a deep purple and sending out spike like flares.
"Who is this," asked one patrol member. "She has reiatsu coming off her. Is she a Soul Reaper?"
"Yeah dumb question, dumb ass," Renji quipped, forgetting he was in the presence of a lady.
She found her voice. "What the hell was that thing? What are you guys playing at, ninjas? How did that thing disappear?" Her words trailed together almost in one sentence.
She was shaking in the cool air. During his fighting, he had forgotten it was so cold. Her wound wasn't bad, but would need to be cleaned and the night was ripe for more Hollows.
"Please, come with me miss, its cold" He reached down a hand. "Can you walk?"
"I…..want to go home." She stated flatly, ignoring the hand.
"I can't take you home, more of those things will appear and your life is in danger." He stated gently.
It was then he saw her eyes flutter. She was close to passing out from the cold, the running, the fear, her overwhelming grief. Her resolve gave in at last; her reiatsu calming to what was looking more like burning embers rather than a fire. She started to double over.
Grunting, Renji caught her. Gathering her up he flash stepped back to Urahara's shop.