Hello! First timer DolphinWhisperer here, just wanting to share this story I've been working on for a while. Of course, being a college student, studies come first, but when classes are out of the way and writer's block is nonexistent, I'll do my best to update the story on a semi-regular basis, i.e. when I have more to upload. Hope you like it! Reviews are welcome, but if you criticize, please be nice. I don't take well to flames, pretty though they are.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters, though I would like to have the honor, as well as many other people in this world.I also do not own the idea of this story - that honor goes to my mother - but I do own the fleshing out of said idea, and since she gave me the idea to work with, it's close enough. :)
Warnings: Takes place before/during arrancar arc. Possible spoiler warning. May be off-canon and possibly OOC. Will most likely have small references to Regression, my mom's story, later on (go read it, it's awesome - Barbellenel is the name).
-Chapter 1-
Fresh snow crunched underneath the feet of the Hollow hunting crew as they left the school grounds, happy to be done with classes for the day. The usual group consisted of Ichigo Kurosaki, Uryuu Ishida, Orihime Inoue, and Yasutora "Chad" Sado, but lately they had some Shinigami visitors. Toushirou Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto (Captain and Vice Captain of Squad Ten), along with Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa (third and fifth seats of Squad Eleven), Renji Abarai (Vice Captain of Squad Six), and Rukia Kuchiki (from Squad Thirteen) had come to assist the group in protecting Karakura Town from the arrancar threat.
As the humans and shinigami walked, they chatted amiably amongst themselves. They all relaxed on the way home, since their cell phones and badges hadn't gone off and no one sensed any change in reiatsu in the area. For the sake of entertainment, they poked fun at each other occasionally, at someone else's expense. As Ichigo, Renji, Ikkaku, and Yumichika argued about who had the best zanpakutou and Ishida once again suggesting that Quincy were better than Shinigami, Chad and Hitsugaya walked in silence with hands in pockets while Rukia, Rangiku, and Orihime gossiped in the back.
During a break in their conversation, Rukia remembered something. She excused herself and found her way to Renji. Managing to get his attention, surprisingly, she dug around in her bag and handed him an eraser.
"Thanks for letting me borrow it, Renji. I really wish I knew where my Chappy the rabbit one went to."
Ichigo started, but quickly muffled it with a cough.
"Yea, anytime," Renji answered, looking at her intently, as if deep in thought. Suddenly he reached forward and pulled her into a gentle embrace.
"I'm so glad you're safe, Rukia," he said.
Rukia was stunned. "Renji…"
"If you hadn't been saved from execution," his grip on her tightened considerably, "I don't know what I would've done…"
"Renji… You're… choking… me…"
He looked up at Ichigo. "Thanks for savin' her."
"Of course," Ichigo said smugly. "I save my friends, unlike some people."
Renji let a purple Rukia go catch her breath with the girls and pointed at Ichigo. "Hey, had you not beaten me, I would've tried to save her eventually and gotten my ass kicked! I never could've beaten Captain Kuchiki at the level I was then. But it's a different story now!"
"Yea, instead of releasing Zabimaru at a moment's notice, you now have a giant bald snake bankai to fall back on," Ichigo retorted.
"Hey, I resent that comment!" Ikkaku protested.
"Yea, but you represent it more," Yumichika told him.
"Face it, Renji. You're losing your edge. I bet even Orihime could beat you with her eyes closed, and we all know she's not really a fighter."
"All the better to show you that we Quincy are superior to Shinigami."
"Can it, four-eyes! How does that prove that at all?"
"He does have a small point though. It seems like our world makes better Shinigami and more powerful humans than the Seireitei does. The four of us ended up doing all the dirty work and saving the day, plus beating all of you to a pulp," Ichigo boasted.
"That's not true at all!" Renji argued. "Yea, we lost the fights against you guys, but the 'better Shinigami' comment isn't right at all. You should try some of the stuff we have to learn in the academy before becoming full fledged Shinigami. I'd like to see you try some kidou for once instead of relying on your life-sized butcher knife."
"Hey, when I got my Shinigami powers, I didn't have much training but I still managed to chop things up, and I've gotten a hell of a lot better at it. I don't need any skills like shooting pink lights out of my fist. Zangetsu is all I need."
"So then you agree that we're better than you." Renji smirked.
"Not at all. I'm saying I'm better 'cause I can actually swing a sword."
"Hey, I know how to use my zanpakutou too!"
"Flailing your stretched out sword doesn't count."
"Why you…" Renji started towards Ichigo, fists ready, but Chad caught him and held him back while Toushirou gave him the 'move and I'll kill you' look.
Ichigo gave him a haughty smirk and turned to walk away. "Earth wins."
Still itching for a fight, Renji yelled after him, "I'm not done with you yet, Strawberry!"
Ichigo stopped in his tracks and turned around with the death glare plastered on his face. "You wanna go, Cactus Head? Fine. Let's have a little fun, shall we?" he growled.
The girls caught up to them. Orihime and Rukia went to Ichigo and Renji to try and calm them down.
"You two aren't supposed to fight each other," Orihime sighed.
"What good is it to Karakura Town if you're too busy fighting each other to dispose of a Hollow?" Rukia scolded.
"As much as I'd like to see it, they have a point," Ishida mused. "Instead of making a scene and having a fist fight on the sidewalk, why don't you find some other way to settle things?"
Yumichika headed off the small crowd that had surrounded them. "Alright people, nothing to see here, except me of course. Unless you want autographs, get moving. Go on! Go!" he said, waving his arms to shoo them and occasionally posing.
"Alright, I'm game. Anything to shut him up." Renji glared at Ichigo.
"Same here. Maybe then I can finally prove my point." Ichigo returned it.
"So how are you gonna duke it out, then?" Ikkaku asked, disappointed that he didn't get to see a decent fight just then.
"I have an idea!" Rangiku piped up. "We could see how fast it takes you two to undress, and-"
"No!" Toushirou interjected. "Moving on. Any other sane ideas?"
The group was quiet, thinking of good ways for the pair to have it out without exposing things and making white haired captains blush.
Renji looked around for any clues and spotted a sign stapled to a telephone pole. He took one look at it and knew it was the answer.
"Hockey."
"What?"
"Hockey. Let's settle things that way."
"Renji, do you even know what hockey is?"
"I think I get the gist of it. You just whack the rubber biscuit and make it go in the red box on the ice. And from the looks of that poster, it looks pretty violent. Sounds like my kind of game," he said, grinning evilly.
"True, but you also have to move with special shoes with metal on the bottom," Rukia stated. "From what I've heard of this 'skating,' it doesn't sound too easy."
"I don't care, I've made up my mind," Renji said stubbornly.
"Okay then, Brick for Brains, we'll play hockey. We'll gather some people for each team and train. Let's meet a week from now at the rink. But let me warn you; martial arts aren't the only thing I've been practicing since I was little," Ichigo told him, the smirk returning.
As the group split and Chad finally let go of him to go home, Renji took one look at Rukia and gulped.
If you like it so far, let me know by clicking the little button on the bottom left corner there. ;)