*Bleach and all its character's belong to Tite Kubo.

Tatsuki stood barefoot on the floor mat in the gym. And she wished that she could drag her eyes away from the thick brush of ink on Renji's chest. The white fighting uniform gaped open on his stocky frame to reveal how his tattoos didn't just stop on his face, it trailed down the sides of his neck, to his pecs. And from the cut off markings she was sure that it trailed even further down his chest.

"So what now?"

She almost jumped. That was too close to being caught staring at him for her liking. Anger at herself rose to the surface.

"Try to take me down."

The look he gave her screamed are you kidding. That pissed her off even more.

"I'm not going to break. Now do as I say. Try to pin me down."

The red head didn't stall at her second command. She landed on top of him, one knee in the center of his back the other pinning his free hand to the ground as she held his other hand behind him, pusing his cheek into the mat.

"You're fast."

She let him up, "again."

This time his attack was almost immediate. He didn't hold back. She ducked his leg's long reach that was aimed at her chest and caught his arm flipping him to the mat again.

"That was an illegal move Abarai-kun."

He grunted as he pulled himself up. She could see that he wasn't half bad but he didn't know the rules. What was annoying her though was that she couldn't place what style he was using. It was fast so she thought about Tae Kwon Do but he was also using moves that were meant to take his opponent down quickly and effectively so she thought Jiu Jitsu. She could tell that he had some kind of formal training but it was bugging her that she couldn't tell what it was. She was good at reading people. Extremely good at reading martial art moves as she was trained in several different kinds. For an hour she had evaded his hands and feet trying to guess his style. She slipped past his grasp every time. Even now he didn't come close to pinning her down though he hadn't dropped the ferocity of his assault. He kept at her. She evaded his reach just in time to knock his feet out from under him in a spinning kick.

"Another illegal move Abarai."

He looked up at her as he wiped his hand across his mouth, "If you're going to beat the shit out of me you might as well call me Renji."

She smiled down at him and offered him her hand. He took it and hefted himself back up.

"I'm going to start from scratch with you. I have no idea what style of martial arts you learned but every move you tried on me would get us both kicked out of the ring."

She watched as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm kind of rusty."

She shook her head, "You did fine Renji."

Somehow she believed her own words. And somewhere in the back of her head her inner self cackled a bone chilling laugh. The council wouldn't know what hit them. And neither would the Otawa High School Martial arts club either. Their first match was in a month, more than enough time to get Renji ready. She walked happily off toward the girl's locker room to change.

"Tatsuki?"

She turned back to the red head hiding her embarrassment at crawling into her own head and forgetting all about him.

"Oh sorry, that's it for today. You passed my entrance exam. Meet me here after school every Tuesday and Thursday."

She waved at him happily as she slipped past the heavy door.

Renji scratched his head as he walked back to the Kurosaki's. He didn't think that she was that different. But damn was he wrong. The girl dominated him all over the mat. Even his best moves where nothing compared to hers. She was like water. She just flowed through his hands. This was the first time he ever remembered anyone pinning him down in hand to hand combat. And the girl was less than half his size! The top of her head didn't even meet his shoulders. He must have had a dazed look on his face because when he walked into Ichigo's living room the television watching strawberry blonde looked up and laughed.

"I told you she was different."

Renji stared at him in disbelief, "She handed me my ass ten different ways from Sunday."

"Watch your mouth. My sisters remember?"

Renji remembered all right. Karin tested his patience to no end and Yuzu had someone what of a soft spot for him. And Isshin well Isshin was just a little bit bonkers. He enjoyed attacking his son physically and he enjoyed running to Renji for comfort. Getting hugs from the head of household was nothing new to him now. He didn't know whether he should be grateful for fitting into things here or strongly disturbed that he did it so well. He trudged up the stairs and into the room across from Ichigo's. He dropped his books next to his bed. The thought of doing his homework crossed his mind but a hot shower overpowered his sense of propriety. That and food. About halfway through his shower his stomach growled. He finished quickly and arrived downstairs just in time to catch a heavy pot from clattering to the tile floor in the kitchen. Karin frowned at him before jerking it from his grasp.

"Thank you Renji-kun."

He smiled at Yuzu before getting roughly hip checked out of the way.

"Pineapple head get out of the kitchen."

"I'm just trying to help you little snot!"

Karin stuck her tongue at him. He stuck his tongue at her.

"Oi, stop making stupid faces, the both of you."

They both turned around and double teamed Ichigo. They turned to each other with smiling faces as he rolled his eyes. When they realized that they were smiling at each other they quickly turned away. Karin stepped on his foot and he took it as he cue to leave the kitchen. He made his way to the island that separated the kitchen from dinner table and sat with Ichigo. He started to tear lettuce for a salad. He might be a moocher but he worked for his keep.

"So you get along with Tatsuki?"

"Heh, she was different alright but yeah, she's a nice girl."

"You didn't go easy on her did you?"

Renji jerked his head up to glare at Ichigo, "She was kicking my ass and I was going full out."

"Stop cursing in front of my sisters you idiot!"

He wanted to tell Ichigo to shove it where his strawberry head don't shine but caught Yuzu looking at him. He shoved a piece of carrot in his mouth and chewed, ignoring Ichigo's smirk. Living in this house was going to kill him. He just knew it.

Dinner came and went as the mismatched family made their way to watch TV while waiting up for Isshin to get home. Three days out of the week he worked at the hospital and for the rest he worked out of his family clinic. Renji sat on the floor with his back to the couch. He wasn't surprised to feel a small hand tug on his hair. About the third night here Renji was sitting this same way playing a video game with Ichigo and he felt Yuzu's small hand bury itself into his hair. He turned around to catch her turning almost the same shade of red as his long locks.

"I used to let Rukia put it up for me when we were kids."

The smile he got from her as she played with his hair was enough for him to take the laughs he got from the piggy tails she gave him. Now he was sure that it would be the same repeat. Hours later her little hands stilled. He felt around to find tiny, intricate braids woven into his hair. He glared at Ichigo who quickly stifled his laughs as he looked down at his sisters soundly asleep.

"Come on let's put them to bed."

Ichigo pried Karin's hand away from the remote before scooping her up. Renji did the same with Yuzu. He nudged their bedroom door open and padded quietly to the youngest sister's bed. He carefully cradled her with one arm as he pulled back her bed covers with the other. Glancing over at Ichigo, he knew that Yuzu was the neater of the two. Karin's bed looked just like her brother's, messy and well slept in. Renji quickly crossed to the other side of the room and shut the door silently. He followed Ichigo's voice to the kitchen making it just in time to hear him hang up the phone.

"They had an emergency. He'll be home around midnight. I'm not staying up to wait."

Renji nodded and followed him up the stairs. He would never admit it to anyone but the little workout Tatsuki had given him had worn him out. If he was in his shinigami form and not in a gigai he wouldn't have even broken a sweat in practice. But now as he sank into the soft bed he enjoyed the feel of his weary bones. He hadn't felt this worn out since he entered into the academy.

The second Tatsuki walked into her living room she wanted to turn around and run back out. Her brothers sat there staring at her with docile eyes.

"Niichans, it's nice to see all of you home so early."

"How was your day Tatsuki? Found a partner yet?"

She cringed as she saw Jiro hold up the forgotten envelope. She knew that she had gotten away with this too easily.

Kanaye crossed his arms as she sat in the chair left open for her. "We called the school when we found the envelope. Why didn't you tell us about the new rules?"

She felt the guilt wash over her the second she looked into their worried eyes, exactly what she didn't want. "I didn't want to worry you."

All three of her brothers shared a sigh. Tatsuki sunk lower in her chair. "You should have told us. We could have-"

Tatsuki's head shot up, "I've already found a partner. I've already started to train with him."

She cringed again as their worried eyes turned into curious ones. "Him?"

Tatsuki nodded, "Ichigo's cousin, Abarai Renji. He's my sparring partner."

Her brothers peered down at her and she fought the urge to fidget.

"We would like to meet this Abarai. Bring him to dinner tomorrow night."

"But Kanaye, Jiro, Hiroshi!"

"No buts, we've got to meet the man our little sister plans to be fighting with. We can't have you killing him without ever meeting him. It's bad manners Tatsuki."

She looked up shocked, "I'm not in trouble?"

Hiroshi laughed, "No. We understand that you want to do this for yourself."

"But," Jiro stood up to ruffle her hair, "you shouldn't have to hide anything from us."

"We are your family Tatsuki. We are here for you no matter what." She nodded at Kanaye, her oldest brother.

"Thank you."

"Now, are there any boys you're interested in?"

Tatsuki's palm smacked against her head at her brothers' eager voices. It was going to be a long year.

The sun felt really nice on Renji's skin. He rolled into the sunbeam with its rays casting directly on his bed. He slept like a rock last night. It was from the magical combination of Tatsuki's ass whooping and the soft bed. He vaguely wondered if she wouldn't mind training on Wednesdays too. He'd have to ask her today before school.

School.

His eyes shot open as he turned to the clock. 7:53. He had to get to school. Now. Damn Ichigo for not waking him up. He hurriedly tugged his uniform pants on. He dove for the closet and hastily grabbed a shirt and threw it on before clambering to find his right shoe. He bit the strap of his bag in his teeth as he tied his hair out of his face. On days like this he wished he would cut it short but he just could never bring himself to cut all the red away. He nearly tripped down the stair as he buttoned his shirt. His feet catching the last stair made him stop long enough to see the brown bag lunch Yuzu left for him on the counter. He snagged it and tucked it into his bag as he ran out the door. Halfway on his way to school he felt his hair band snap, sending his red hair flying down around his face. He felt it stick to the damp skin on his neck. Summer in Karakura Town was hotter than he remembered from his few trips here in the past. He ignored the itchy uncomfort, focusing instead on the school's gate. But he stopped short when he saw who was waiting for him there.

"Tatsuki?"

"Renji, I was beginning to think that I was too hard on you yesterday," she turned to him and her teasing voice stopped. He watched her as look of confusion crossed her face before she viciously bit her bottom lip.

"What is it? I'm late."

He saw a piece of his red hair fall into his line of vision but ignored it as he watched her as she tried to muffle a giggle.

"Renji, did you know that your hair is braided?"

Last night came back to him as soon as he focused on the braided strand of hair in front of his eyes.

"SHIT!"

He ran his hands through his hair trying to untangle them. But he wasn't having any luck. He was just thinking how embarrassing it would be to walk into school with a Bo Derrick look when Tatsuki slipped smooth wood into his hands. He looked down to see a hairbrush nestled in his palm. He hurriedly drug it through his hair, the braids coming out much easier with the slender teeth than his thick hands. He handed the brush back to her.

"Thanks."

He watched as she seemed to notice a few strands sticking to the sweat on the sides of his neck. She reached into her back and pulled out a stack of note cards. She snagged the rubber band off and handed it to Renji before tossing them back into her bag. Renji was baffled by her generosity but he wasn't one to complain. He pulled his hair back into the normal style as Tatsuki dug around in her bag and pulled out a navy blue bandana.

"Here."

He took it and wrapped it around his forehead, hiding his tattoos from sight.

"Thanks Tatsuki. You just saved me from a world of embarrassment."

She shrugged walking past the gates and onto school grounds. "Now you have to pay me back."

He followed her, an eyebrow rising on his face. "What did you have in mind?"

"Dinner at my house tonight. My brothers want to meet my sparring partner."

He stopped dead in his tracks. Brothers. That little harmless word sent a shiver down his spine. It brought up memories of his captain. He ruined the image and the word brother for him. Byakuya was cold, almost heartless toward Rukia, at least before she was almost executed. He thought all siblings were like that until he moved in with Ichigo. The teen was kind to his sisters and openly showed his love for them. Still, Renji couldn't help but feel a cold block of ice drop into the pit of his stomach when he heard the word brother. He automatically pictured his Captain. And now he pictured Tasuki surrounded by a room full of them.

"Brothers?"

She looked back and smiled over her shoulder at his face which he was sure was as pale as the shirt he was wearing.

"Yes, brothers. I have three. Just wait for me at the gates after school. Now come on before we're both late."

With that she disappeared into the school leaving Renji to follow with his early morning make over and dark thoughts.