Okay, so, here's me again(sorry about infrequent and late updates, I've been unusually busy lately), and now I've got a twoshot(may turn into a threeshot)for everyone. So, yeah, this takes place shortly after Renji enters the thirteen court guard squads, and before Kaien and Miyako's deaths. This fic has been a work in progress(I've been brainstorming it for a few months now), but I really like this one, and I hope you guys do to. Enjoy!

Adapting

Rukia leaned back against the rough bark of the tree, almost on the verge of tears. She had, again, run away from the training grounds during sparring practice, all because of her stupid, stupid emotions. She couldn't help it, she just couldn't help the sadness that kept overwhelming her. It was just...the small girl's lip began to quiver and she could feel the waterworks coming again...

"Hey, what's the matter?" came the voice of her mentor, and his face appeared upside-down, right in front of hers. He held two steaming cups of tea in his hands, and was staring at her expectantly. Rukia's eyes widened in surprise. He pulled this trick constantly, but she never had been able to get used to it.

"Ka-Kaien-dono!" she exclaimed. The raven-haired shinigami hadn't expected for her teacher to come to her, as he usually left her to her thoughts when she left training suddenly, as she had done only minutes ago. Kaien jumped down to his feet, somehow managing not to spill a single drop of tea. He quickly handed her one of the cups, which she took gratefully, the piping hot temperature warming her small hands considerably. Her surprise from her superior's sudden arrival, though, was quickly taken over by her existing depression, and her eyes went downcast again. Kaien sighed, a bit more dramatically than was necessary, and took a seat next to his student.

"Seriously, Rukia," he continued. "This is the tenth time you've run off during training, and in my experience that means something serious is going on." He continued to look at her, and she continued to avoid his gaze, not even sipping her steaming tea. It was as if she were conflicted about revealing the source of her distress, as if she wanted to, but felt she couldn't for some reason. Kaien waited a few moments, to see if she would tell, but ultimately decided that he wasn't going to get anything out of her. He stood up suddenly, emptying the remainder of his beverage into the grass.

"Well, if you're really not going to tell me, then-"

"-It's just...I'm behind everyone else..." she interrupted. Frankly, Kaien was a bit surprised that she had decided to speak up, but he immediately plopped back down beside her to listen.

"No one except you, Miyako-dono, and Ukitake-taicho treat me normally..." she continued. "I'm not nearly as strong as anyone else, and I don't like being treated like I'm royalty...I guess I'm just having a hard time adapting, is all..." Her expression wasn't changing, and though Kaien knew she was telling the truth, he also sensed that she was leaving a part of it out. And he didn't intend on giving up after getting this far.

"Then...why did you join the Kuchiki clan?" he asked. "Surely you knew that people would put you on a pedestal if you were taken in by a noble family like them, right?" Rukia's head dropped into her knees, and she instantly began sobbing into her hakama.

"W-Wow!" exclaimed Kaien. "Wh-What did I say?" He was shocked. For some reason, what he had just said struck a nerve in his subordinate, and she refused to stop weeping.

"...En...di..." cried Rukia in a muffled voice, her face still buried in her cloth-clad legs. Kaien's eyebrow raised. Was she...saying someone's name? He leaned a bit closer to the melancholy girl, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"What did you say?" he asked, trying to sound as least-interrogative as he could, in an attempt to make her repeat herself. Rukia lifted her head from her soaked hakama pants, her closed eyes red and swollen and her face still streaking with the tears that were beginning to wet her hair.

"RENJI!" she screamed in grief, her face smothering itself into her pants once more as her sobs of sadness escalated. A shocked Kaien stared in disbelief at the fact that Rukia had just yelled someone's name, and, at that, a man's name as well.

"Kaien!" called a voice in the distance. Said man's head snapped to the source of the sound, making out the form of his wife's running outline peaking over top of the hill. If Rukia had noticed the shout, then it was obvious that she was ignoring it, as her blubbering went on as if nothing had occurred. Upon reaching where the two were, Miyako stopped, her face softening as she took in the sight of the weeping Rukia.

"Ukitake-taicho asked me to follow you, and then I rushed here when I heard the yell," she informed quickly, before redirecting her attention from Kaien to Rukia. "What's-" she began, reaching an arm out for the depressed girl, and then being promptly interrupted by her husband, who laid his hand over hers, using his other to signal her closer.

"I don't know all the details..." whispered Kaien into Miyako's ear, his hand beside his mouth so the conversation was concealed, "...but Rukia seems to be upset about a man."

"A man?" spoke Miyako, quirking an eyebrow. "What man?"

"I'm not entirely sure who he is, but the scream you heard was Rukia yelling the name 'Renji.'"

"Renji...wasn't that one of the new squad 5 recruits from a couple months back?" asked Miyako, her brows crinkling in concentration as she tried to remember the boy.

"I think you're right," agreed Kaien, much in the same state as his wife. "Yeah, Renji...I remember him from the lineup of new recruits that we were looking at. Abarai Renji...he had bright red hair...his hair's the only reason I remember him, actually." Both individuals turned towards Rukia, whose cries had died down and were now silent, and their faces reflected concern.

"Rukia," spoke Miyako softly, kneeling down and placing a hand on her shoulder, mimicking what her husband had done earlier, "What's your problem with Renji?" There were a few muffled sniffles before Rukia's face lifted up a bit, enough for her voice to be heard clearly, but not so much that they could see her features.

"I miss him so much..." she replied in a broken, miserable voice, her grip around her knees tightening.

"What do you mean?" It was another question from Miyako, and Rukia didn't move an inch when she answered,

"We were always supposed to be together...we were family...and he...he let me go...I want him back...I want my Renji!" At this point, she was nearly crying again, and her head raised up enough so that the watching couple could see the incredible sadness painted in her eyes.

"Were you and Renji...romantically involved?" asked Kaien, trying to put the question as delicately as he could. Rukia's gaze shifted from her lap to the side and a tiny bit of a blush was apparent on her face.

"N-No, but..." she trailed off, her eyes watering up a little more as her fingers tightened around her legs again. At this, both Kaien and Miyako were immediately made aware of how their subordinate felt about the young man.

"Explain it to us from the beginning," coaxed Miyako gently, moving from facing Rukia to sitting closely beside her, allowing the younger woman to nestle into her side for comfort.

"We met when we were just little kids, orphans, in Rukongai..." explained Rukia, her voice not as shaky as earlier. "It was the 78th district, and we had to steal and hunt for food and clean water." Knowing much about the highly-numbered districts of the Rukon, Kaien and Miyako did not need to be told this to know that it was very true. "For ten years, we were together, just us and our buddies," continued Rukia. "But after all that time had passed and we were grown, all our comrades...they were gone. Renji and I..." she seemed to almost start weeping upon saying the man's name again, "...we both had sufficient spiritual pressure, and we decided to become shinigami, so that we could live a better life, and be happy. As soon as we were accepted, I was assigned to the normal class, and Renji to the advanced one, even though that idiot can't do kidou to save his life." Surprisingly, her tone was laced not with jealousy, like one might expect, but was said with an air of sarcasm and teasing. It was obvious that she and this 'Renji' were, or at least had been, the best of friends, had been on terms that were so good that they would mock and make fun of each other constantly, but it would all be in good fun.

"I was sad," continued Rukia, "because Renji always seemed to be occupied with something to do for his advanced class, he was always on an advanced class-only mission, or doing all the extra homework he always complained about. The only thing that kept me from becoming too depressed was that he would always go out of his way to talk to me when I showed up. Even if he was hanging around with his other friends, or even if he was training, something that he took VERY seriously, he would interrupt whatever he was doing to come and say hi to me, to ask how my day was and what was going on with me in general." A small smile adorned her features, showing both in her mouth and in her eyes as she went on, "So, I knew that he was just oblivious to the effect that all his extra occupation had on me. If I would've told him, I know he would've made more time for me, because that was just the way he was...but I didn't want to burden him. He had so much on his plate, and I didn't want to be the one messing up his concentration, so I settled for the small windows of conversation I could have with him during the day." Now, her voice was fully back to normal, and the signs that she had been crying(puffy eyes, red face, and dried tear streaks)were nearly gone.

"It didn't help that I wasn't making any friends," said Rukia, her story going on. Renji had always teased her about being unsocial, and she had known that it was probably a combination of that, and the fact that she was too hung up on him most of the time to make a real effort at it. "And one day, a group of men came by the academy. It was so obvious they were nobles, because one of them was wearing kenseiken, and they all had splendid clothing on. I was taken out of class and led to a room the same day they arrived. When I went in, the heavy spiritual pressure and the awe of being in the presence of high nobles kept me from saying anything. They explained everything to me. They wanted to adopt me into the clan of Kuchiki, pull some strings to have me graduate immediately and without a final exam, and then place me here, in the thirteenth division. They left as soon as Renji burst in, and I told him everything that they had offered me. Just as I was about to tell him that I didn't want to go, that I wanted to stay with him, he exclaimed right in my face that this was wonderful, the best thing that I could have ever hoped for. At the moment, I was too surprised at the offer itself, too angry and sad that he had wanted to send me off that I didn't try to talk some sense into his head, and I left him with a 'thank you.' All the rest of the night, I was up, crying, and after the initial emotions of anger had left, I realized that he couldn't have wanted me to go...I had known him for ten years, and that was the last thing he would ever do in the world. Even though it seemed that way, I know deep down that he just wanted me to be better off, and now...now, I just want him back..." Instead of crying, she just stayed still, depressed, out of tears to cry for her friend.

After this story, Kaien and Miyako, well...they were shocked, to say the least. Never had they thought that Rukia, especially at such a young age, had been through this much heartbreak. Miyako, still holding the younger girl to her, turned her head in the direction of her husband, and the two held a silent conversation.

'You know what we have to do, Kaien...' said his wife's gaze, and he nodded firmly, in total agreement. Not a second later, he was gone, flash-stepping away to track down the man his subordinate loved.

Renji sat atop the roof of a squad 5 building, his mind lost in deep thought. Just a few weeks ago, he had been Abarai Renji, a rat from the slums with nothing except a dream and a little bit of spiritual pressure. But now, he thought, he was a shinigami. Even though he still fell under the category of a filthy kid from the streets, he was prouder than ever to be able to tell himself, and others, that he was now Abarai Renji, a shinigami of the seireitei, fifth squad. An unseated shinigami, true, but a shinigami nonetheless. And this step, this step of graduating the academy and actually reaching the title of death god...it was only one step in the many he would have to take to be good enough for her. His Rukia. She deserved the best life possible, deserved to be happy. Rather than dragging her down with him so they could be poor and hungry, and be stepped on by the rest of society, he would better himself to the point where he could give her everything, and anything, she wanted, to the point where they could walk through the hallways proudly, and be seen not as rats, but as respected members of the thirteen court guard squads.

"Where have you been?" came a sudden voice from behind him. Renji, not surprised that someone had come looking for him, turned his head in the direction of his newly arrived friend, Izuru Kira.

"Just sittin' here," replied the redhead, leaving out the part about his fantasy of one day reconnecting with Rukia, marrying her, and maybe, just maybe, conceiving a child with her.

"You weren't in the mess hall at lunch time," said Kira firmly, revealing his obvious suspicion.

"I wasn't hungry." It was a simple reply, but Renji's blonde companion could tell that the man was lying through his teeth, because, number one, he was Renji, and Renji was always hungry. Number two, his face was in a set of deep thought and concentration.

"You're thinking about her again, aren't you?" The question was blunt, so much so that Renji almost wanted to punch himself for making his feelings so obvious to those around him.

"What's it to you?" the tattooed shinigami practically hissed, not wanting to have this conversation again. He damn well knew what he was going to do, and no one, not even one of his close buddies, was going to change his mind.

"You should just go get her." Renji whipped fully around at his friend's statement, a look of disbelief painting his features. There was no way this man was Kira, the same Kira who constantly nagged on him to stay away from Rukia because of her recently-raised status, who always told him that keeping his distance and letting her go would be for the best.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Kira?" asked Renji, eyes still wide. Instead of laughing, said man simply cast his comrade a semi-serious gaze, taking a seat beside him.

"I've seen how you act, Renji," spoke the blonde. "Though I haven't known you as long as Rukia, I've come to know how you are, and what your priorities are. I know that I've told you countless times that you should just stay away, and I still think that doing that would be for the better." He paused for a moment, to redirect his gaze towards the horizon. "But, regardless of what I think you should do, I know that whatever I say isn't going to get past the stubbornness that shields that big head of yours." The comment made Renji twitch in irritation, however he allowed Kira to finish. "So, as your friend, I'm obligated to support you in whatever venture you choose to take on, no matter how crazy it might seem to be." For a minute, Renji was touched. But before he could say anything pertaining to the heartfelt little speech, the man beside him spoke up again.

"I've heard that you might be transferred to squad 11." Renji's head snapped over to Kira, his eyes widening in the process. He had never heard such a thing, though the redhead figured that it wasn't exactly commonplace to hear rumors about oneself.

"That..." he said, blinking a couple times, "...would be awesome!" Now it was Kira's turn to look dumbfounded.

"What do you mean, Renji?" he asked. "Don't you like being under Aizen-taicho's command?" The excitement didn't leave Renji's voice or face as he answered,

"Well, of course Aizen-taicho is great, but this is squad 11 we're talking about!" beamed Renji. "Fights happening 24/7, and it's got the toughest soul reapers you'll ever find! Being around a group like that would make my strength skyrocket!" Before Kira could intervene with his own words, Renji went on, "And I've heard about the third seat, too, Madarame Ikkaku. Man, if I could get him to train me, just imagine how strong I would be!" Happiness surged throughout him as he thought about it, thought about being that strong...just fathoming it invigorated him down to his core.

"You really do love her, don't you?" Kira, who had been the one to change the subject, was bringing their conversation back around to Rukia again, and Renji's face went serious again, his fists loosening.

"More than you could ever know," he said softly, his tone an unidentifiable emotion, somewhere between determination and devotion. His eyes had gone hard, filled with what was, apparently, love, as he gazed out at the horizon. Suddenly, Kira stood, placing a hand firmly on Renji's shoulder, before stating simply,

"Good luck, Renji..." Renji, unchanged by this, simply listened to the sound of his friend's footsteps as the man walked away, his mind re-swearing him to the promise he had made on the day of Rukia's adoption.

'Good luck, Renji...' He nearly scoffed at the words, muttering to himself,

"God knows I'll need it..."

END OF PART 1

Did you like it? I hope so. I'm not really sure when I'll be able to update, but I will try to work on this as much as I can, so please stay tuned! Though I can't promise a definite update time, I can promise that, one way or another, by hell or high water, this WILL be updated. So don't give up on me! Also, one question: How do you guys like the way I portrayed Rukia's point of view on the matter? Just asking, since this is my first time really writing about her thoughts on it, and since she's harder to do it for than Renji. Tite Kubo is the owner of Bleach, not myself, and I love and appreciate all comments and opinions!