Once upon a time there was an orphan who grew up to become a slave and a stable boy. His entire life was work from morning till dusk and his only friends had been long lost.
Somehow, the slave boy became a man whose heart was soft and yearned for love. Somehow he still had the time and the strength to dream.
...
Renji heard about the apple tree crisis and the King's raging earlier than most, which was somewhat of a surprise, as Renji's life consisted of endless hours in the stables caring for the horses, greasing the riding gear of the prince and that of his band of warriors, and overseeing the errand boys he was in charge of – not to mention any extra work given to him by the prince, should he so wish.
He hadn't exactly meant to overhear, but as he'd been wandering the castle doing various tasks for Prince Ikkaku in preparation for his journey to see Lady Nemu of the Fugai, he found out what had happened.
The apples were disappearing; it seemed that someone was stealing them.
Renji wasn't usually credited with much intelligence due to his heritage, which sometimes was to his advantage, as he could get away with more if others thought him too simple or stupid to know better – but he was smart enough to know that this was a big problem.
The queen needed the apples. There were some saved up of course, but it was still cause for concern if someone was stealing them. They were for her health, and if things went on like this for too long, who knew what would happen.
Emperor Kenpachi had sent some servants to see who'd taken their magical fruits from the garden. Only specially trusted people were usually permitted into the garden to collect the apples. Renji didn't even know where the garden was on the castle grounds, which was saying something, as he'd been a landscaper as a teen. Apparently even the prince didn't go near the tree – although that could be more due to negligence and disinterest than being forbidden to do so.
First, Aramaki was sent, which might have been poor judgement on the Kempachi's part – if Renji were to ever think the Kempachi could have poor judgement in any matter; which he didn't, of course.
Renji had heard him report back to the King that when it had become dark in the garden, he'd gone out and lain down near the tree to watch – but as the apples had started to ripen, sleep had overtaken him, and when he'd woken at dawn, he'd looked around, but where were the apples? Taken away!
When he'd seen that, he'd come to tell the Kempachi – who was not pleased with his incompetence.
Renji hadn't been able to stay and listen to the horrible shouting, instead fleeing down the corridor in terror with all his hair standing up. The Kempachi had his kind side, but he was a terrifying man nonetheless. His temper was legendary.
Next, Iba, a respected warrior, volunteered.
"I will go tonight to see who takes them," he said that night when the knights were gathered home from a hunt, passing their horses off to Renji and the younger stable hands.
Renji watched them go off towards the barracks to carouse into the night, and he had hope that Iba would be able to solve the mystery. He was so disciplined, he'd surely do it!
However, to his disappointment and worry, the Kempachi called for him personally the following day. He racked his brain but could not think of any reason that he would be reprimanded, anything he'd done that required punishment – still his stomach was in knots on the way there.
As he passed outside the appointed room to meet Emperor Kenpachi, he could hear Iba discussing his mission. Renji waited in the hallway and listened.
He too had watched the tree as Aramaki had, and when the apples had begun ripening, he'd fallen asleep. When he'd woken up, where were the apples? Gone!
Emperor Kempachi was getting quite testy, having had more faith in one of his men. Renji didn't particularly want to see the king, feeling somehow that he was in trouble, especially now that the Kempachi was in a bad mood.
Iba told him that he would go on a journey and return when he'd trained his spirit with more discipline. Renji startled when the door opened fully next to him as Iba left, and to his dread, the Kempachi spotted him waiting in the doorway.
"Boy," he noted, and Renji snapped to attention, his eyes lowered and his cheeks red. "Eavesdropping, huh?"
At the fond, near-fatherly tone that he had used when he and Prince Ikkaku had been little boys, Renji relaxed somewhat, tentatively stepping in, still embarrassed, but now certain that he was not about to be scolded. Even when Ikkaku had begun to scorn his friendship and grow out of playing with him in the yard with the chickens, the Kempachi has always been nice to him, lenient even.
In any case, he still bowed at the waist and said, "My apologies, Kempachi."
Paying him no mind, the king stared him down and asked directly, "What're your thoughts?" Renji looked up, confused.
"Sir?"
"'M sure you know, little rascal, that the magic apples are disappearing. I sent that good-for-nothing Aramaki and he had nothing to report."
"Yessir," Renji acknowledged, paying close attention. It had been a long time since the two of them had had a direct conversation.
"And then my chief strategist comes back much the same," the Kempachi grumbled, resting his chin on his knuckles with a scowl. "Wonder if I oughtta' change methods… Maybe captain a' the guard…"
Renji scuffed his toe, taking a hesitant step closer. "... Ah, Kempachi," he began, waiting to be allowed to speak. The king grunted, and Renji bobbed his head. "Should you perhaps tell Prince Ikkaku, your majesty?"
King Kenpachi snorted. "Nah," he dismissed, "let him fool about for a while longer."
"Yessir." Renji tilted his head.
"I've got news for him on that score in any case an' he'll be far too distracted to be bothered with this." Renji knew that meant it was something to do with Lady Nemu, and privately, he agreed. Prince Ikkaku's been very distractable lately.
"When you come across that fool, send him in to me."
"Yessir."
"An' mind you keep this t'yourself, boy." The Kempachi turned his head away, waving a hand to dismiss him, but Renji saw his eyes were smiling, and he smiled back, bowing at the waist.
"Understood, Kempachi," he said with warmth in his heart, and then took his leave.
Ikkaku was very excited when Renji was summoned to his bedroom that evening. Apparently the Princess of the Fugai had accepted their engagement. He'd already planned to ride out to the brigand country the next morning for a few days to find a trinket to give her as a token of affection.
After Ikkaku dismissed him to go to bed, Renji was up all night preparing for his departure, getting the prince's horse and riding gear ready.
He watched enviously as the warrior party prepared for departure the following morning.
"Renji!" he was called. Renji dutifully came.
As he handed off Ikkaku's sword and calmed his horse, petting its nose, Renji stood in a humble silence as he held the rest of Ikkaku's gear and watched the prince absently fool about with the others. Ikkaku forgot about him for a time, but after putting on his riding gloves and unburdening Renji fully, Renji, not even confident that he would be heard over the laughing and shouting of the eager warriors, wished, "Please have a safe journey, my prince."
Ikkaku glanced towards him for a second, adjusting his sword on his belt, and Renji dropped his chin. "Only a few days. Not long now and we'll be traveling much farther."
Prince Ikkaku then mentioned offhand that when he left to visit the Princess to win her hand, Renji would accompany him.
Renji lifted his eyes and felt his heart would burst at this, prideful and excited, and he hoped beyond hope that Prince Ikkaku meant it.
The Captain of the Guard, Hisagi Shuuhei, seemed to have overheard, and he cast a glance towards him down his nose. The overjoyed beginnings of a smile fighting its way onto Renji's face fell cold.
"I urge you to reconsider, M'lord," he told the prince, looking at Renji like dirt. Renji glanced between the two of them.
"Ah?" Ikkaku hummed distractedly, barely looking towards Hisagi.
"I'd point out that he was born in a barn and ought to stay there, my prince." Renji's stomach took an alarming flip: anger, dread, outrage.
Ikkaku snorted. "We'll discuss this later."
He mounted his horse and waved a farewell, departing with the other warriors. Renji watched them go, heart burning with jealousy, but he quailed under Captain Hisagi's sharp gaze.
Even if it meant remaining behind during Prince Ikkaku's journey to the Fugai, Renji knew it would be better than to attract too much of Hisagi's attention or scorn. It would only bring trouble back into his life.
Still, it didn't make the disappointment any less difficult to bear. He didn't think he'd ever wanted anything more than to visit the Fugai with the rest of the convoy – and to think Prince Ikkaku had, however nonchalantly, invited him personally!
In Prince Ikkaku's absence, Renji worked harder than ever. He was going to be on his best behavior and hope against hope that he could both keep whatever favor he had with the prince and also stay off the captain's bad side.
Things weren't quite so simple, however. Two days later, the Kempachi was in a fret, and was downright bad-tempered.
Having retreated into his chambers with his wife for most of the day, the Kempachi had come out mean and quick to snap, and Renji suspected that the queen was growing ill, or at least the Kempachi wished her to rest in safety until they resolved this very worrying issue.
Renji knew it was none of his business despite his curiosity, but all the same he prayed to the holy mountain for the queen's good health before going to bed each night.
Later on, the Kempachi needed to see a man about a horse, and, being the senior stable hand, Renji was sent for. He didn't envy the poor souls who had to face the Kempachi during a temper, but of course, sometimes the burden fell on his own shoulders too.
Exercising great caution, Renji went trepidatiously, and found the Kempachi on his throne, scowling deeply. "Boy, get my horse ready for this evening."
"Yessir, at once," he obeys, bowing his head. The Kempachi grunted in displeasure. Renji swallowed, wondering recklessly if what he was about to say would help or only get him into deep trouble.
"Ahh, Kempachi," he began hesitantly.
"What," the king grumbled nastily, but not excessively so.
Pushing his luck, Renji asked, "Sir, has a way been found to catch the apple thief?"
The Kempachi banged his fist on the arm of his chair. "No one can even catch sight a' the damn thief!" he shouted in frustration, slapping his chin into his palm and brooding.
Renji, filled to the brim with hope and devotion to the family that had taken him in, asked as meekly as he could, "You wouldn't allow me to try, Kempachi...?"
Instead of scolding him or growing furious, King Kenpachi merely shut his mouth and turned his head, giving him an assessing look. Seeing that he might actually be considering the idea, or at the very least, indulging his boldness, Renji felt free to speak. If he could just prove himself to the Kempachi, or better yet, to the prince, regain his friendship…
The Kempachi wasn't unkind in his answer. Still gazing at him steadily, he said, "I've sent the best and the brightest to watch over the tree, and all of them return to tell me the same thing." He waved a hand. "And I should allow you and expect a different result?"
Renji understood the tone in his voice: doubt; pity. Renji wasn't the lowest ranking member of the castle staff, but he was treated that way at times. He was a stable boy and a bastard, a former slave, and had been a plaything cast aside by the prince. Most of all, he was from the South, a Rukonjin. Why on earth would he be able to do anything that his betters couldn't?
Really, the king ought to punish him for even daring to suggest that he might try – but the Kempachi had something of a soft spot for him. He'd been the one to save Renji from slavers by purchasing him as a child and letting him work in the castle. The Kempachi had taken him on, an illegitimate orphan slave boy, at around the time his own son had turned ten, wanting Ikkaku to have someone to play with. Renji's never had a father or anything like it, but the king was perhaps the closest thing he'd ever claim to have had, growing up. Although it was different now that he and Ikkaku were both young men, Renji still could get away with a bit if it could go unnoticed, and seeing as he and the Kempachi were alone…
Renji openly begged, "Kempachi, if you would allow me the chance-"
"You'd have to be awake all hours of the night. None can seem to achieve it."
Seeing that there might be the tiniest opportunity that he might get his way, Renji only begged harder. "I'm awake at all hours of the night to complete my duties, Sir," he insisted. "It would be no hardship, M'lord, if I were to try – with your permission."
Kempachi considered it with a hum.
Renji begged and begged, and eventually the Kempachi agreed. "Very well," he said, and Renji lit up in joy. "See that you don't fail like those other fools, my boy."
And god, if Renji didn't glow at being 'my boy' for once. He's never been anyone's boy.
"Yessir! Thank you Kempachi!" He didn't know what to do with himself, he was so excited.
More seriously, the Kempachi told him in a low voice, "I'll warn you, do not approach the tree. Sit you down and watch. Report what you see." Renji nodded vigorously.
"I won't let you down, Kempachi," he said, as composed as he manage at the moment. He made to leave, came to a halting stop, bowed hurriedly, then left, hearing the king snort from behind him.
Renji closed the door behind him, then jumped in the air as he ran down the hall, heart soaring. He definitely won't let them down!
He was in a good mood for the rest of the evening. He got the King's horse ready and hurried along to oversee the young boys as they took care of the animals for the night.
After chasing the milkmaids and pulling their skirts, Renji went out at eventide to the magical garden, having been told where it was by the knight who'd made the previous attempt.
Not many people knew this, but Renji was enamored by magic. In the North there was a general feeling of distrust for magic, the people of the mountain, and especially the East, where spirits often came down from the mountain to live. However, Renji wasn't a northerner. He'd grown up in the South, in Inuzuri, and saw the mountain and the magical land of the east as a place of hope. After all, the East was where the sun rose.
And so now, the single magical entity in all of Zaraki, would be his to behold. Renji could hardly steady his fiercely pounding heart, his excited breathing. What would a magical garden look like? What would the tree look like?
Cautiously entering through the gate and walking through a short stone passageway, Renji slowly stepped out into the garden, which was a humongous open-air courtyard, grassy and dense with trees and shrubs, old overgrown fountains.
He gaped and marveled at the wild beauty of the flowers within the high-walled garden, but stayed determinedly focused on his task, taking a straight path through the crowded, untended greenery, and came to a center clearing where the plants had been more carefully groomed.
There stood what could be nothing other than the magical apple tree, growing upon a mound.
It was beautifully shaped, with thick low branches perfect for climbing, its trunk not a perfect straight line, instead curving elegantly, large roots wrapping into the ground. Its leaves and trunk, even the very grass of the clearing all seemed to glow greenish yellow, the way plants do when the sun shines through them. They shone like this as though it was noon on a sunny day despite it being half-past midnight.
Renji looked at it, breath taken away by its loveliness, but as the shadows of the dense garden ended, he stopped, just as his toes met the edge of the golden glow in the clearing. There he sat down in the darkness and worked, carving a design into a slab of wood that he'd brought along to pass the time.
Soon he was glad he'd obeyed the Kempachi, since he eventually noticed a gigantic serpent lazing around the trunk of the tree, eyeing him in sinister suspicion. It gave him quite a start. The beauty of the magical tree had so enamored him that he hadn't even seen the great beast at first.
Renji dutifully remained where he was in the darkness and whittled, determined not to move no matter what amazing things the magical tree might do. He will succeed, at any cost. With the whole world expecting him to return in failure, he had no other choice but to prove he was not worthless, not useless. He must remain vigilant the whole night through.
Not long had passed when the tree began to change.
Renji watched as it burst into blossoms, enjoying how pretty it was to see the gleaming white flowers open. Bees from a nearby hut drifted out and pollinated the flowers cheerily, creating a happy peaceful buzz.
The moon had risen high into the sky by then, and the flowers and leaves of the tree seemed to gleam golden in the darkness, while now, everything else was touched with pale silver moonlight. The grass around Renji's legs was cold with dew, and his bones began to ache from sitting on the damp ground, but he did not move.
At around two o'clock, when the apples began to sprout and ripen, Renji watched very carefully in fascination. The fruits were growing right before his eyes and they looked delicious. They gleamed so brightly, they looked like pieces of solid metal, yet still tender and juicy enough to bite into. Their golden light was illuminating the yard.
Renji set down the little wooden sword he'd hewn and decorated, making to stand up to get a better look.
It crossed his mind then that perhaps he should try to pick some of the apples before the thief came, or before the apples rotted away, or however they'd been disappearing. The dragon was terrifying to look at, but surely it must allow someone to pick the apples if the queen has been using the apples for so long?
Renji knew that he should just endure the final few hours in silence, observing as he'd been told, but all the same, he considered how one might go about picking the apples, how the thief might achieve this and how they might be stopped.
As he stood there looking at the golden fruit, there came a sudden noise, and Renji startled, hiding himself behind a tree in the shadows. He peered out with his heart pounding. Had the thief arrived?
Heart filled with indignance and excitement, he watched carefully for many long moments, straining his eyes and ears for anything more.
To his surprise, up flew nine large birds – peahens, he realized – eight of which settled on the ground in the clearing, as glowing golden and lovely as the apples.
The ninth bird settled near the tree, and as it was separated from the group, Renji could get a better look at it. On closer inspection, this was a peacock, and it was silver.
To his great alarm, the serpent, which had until then been lying motionless but for the roving of its great eye, coiled up and opened its jaws, showing its massive teeth and fiery orange eyes. Renji pressed his lips together tightly as he watched it rear up above the comparatively small bird.
As it seemed it was about to snap the bird up and swallow it whole, the peacock began to chirp and trill and then sing the most lovely song Renji had ever heard.
The dragon closed its mouth, cocked its head, and then hunkered down, wrapping its scaled neck along the ground close to the bird's feet, affectionate and lazy, and shut its eyes in sleep. The peacock settled against the dragon's leg and continued to sing, and up the peahens flew, perching in the tree with the apples, gobbling them up.
The peacock glowed brightly with silver light, and Renji reflexively shielded his eyes with his arm. He stopped himself when he realized he might draw attention with the sudden movement, but the damage was done. As he moved, the peacock seemed to glow brighter, changing… growing?
Soon it became a tall beam of silver light, a figure that seemed to turn and meet eyes with him, and the lovely song suddenly felt heavy and irresistible. He slumped to the ground, feeling the impact as one would fall into a pillow, and his eyes began to drift closed in sleep.
As he drifted off, Renji could swear he heard the laughter and chatter of pretty girls, and the singing of a lovely mellow voice.
When he awoke later, it was morning and the sparrows were singing, and the fragrant garden swayed in the breeze around him, lit up with sunlight. Renji looked up at the clouds and blinked confusedly. Why was he sleeping outside?
He suddenly remembered the previous night and sat bolt upright, looking about him in panic. The tree…!
To Renji's dismay, when he looked to the magical tree, he found that all the fruits were gone, not even one spared… His heart sank in dread and disappointment.
As his shoulders slumped and his head bowed, a sudden glint of sunlight caught his eye, and he glanced to the side on the ground.
Just near his hand, lying in the grass, was a single golden apple.