Chapter 3
Author's Note: Hey Guys, its ArtJunkie.. It was suggested that I explain how the main characters met, so here it is. I also wanted to do something for Renji's birthday, it's kinda late but I hope you like. Please, comment and feel free to message me, I will listen to any suggestions you have, really. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it…READY, STEADY…GO!
August 31, Rukongai District 78 Inuzuri
'It's my damn birthday…I should be able to do whatever the hell I want! If I want to eat, I should get some food. If I want to sleep in a bed, I should find one. If I want a present, I should get one, right? I mean, it is my birthday.' These were the thoughts of one little boy, Renji Abarai, as he sat dejectedly in the back of an alley way. He was dirty, cold and scared just like the thousands of other kids that roamed the streets of Rukongai. He appeared perfectly ordinary, not even worth a second glance; most people wouldn't even acknowledge that he existed. They treated him like something unpleasant, a bad smell in the air or grime stuck to one's shoe. It was cursed or scowled at, this unpleasant thing, and that was how the kids of Rukon grew up, expecting nothing more than a few harsh words and the occasional kick to the ribs.
The little boy smiled, 'But not today!' He had been sitting in the shadows of the taiyaki stand for the better part of the day, waiting. He was waiting for anything that could be called a distraction and would give him the chance to grab something. The smell of the food was making his mouth water and his stomach growl; it was almost unbearable, watching the adults that made his life miserable scarf away the fish-shaped cakes that were his hearts only desire. Every day he wandered past the stand and smelt the food but he never thought he would be crouching in the filth, mere feet from the stand waiting for the fat bastard that ran it to go take a piss, so he could casually walk by and take some snacks with him. His stomach growled, and he tried to ignore the hunger pains. 'Just a little bit longer,' he thought, 'the baka has to move sometime.'
After a few more torturous minutes, Renji brushed his long red hair out of his face, and smiled. The time had come, for him to make his move….The man stood, stretched and walked off to relieve himself, leaving the stand unattended. Renji got up with the swiftness of someone used to running, and made his way to the cart; he was trying to be subtle but it was hard to remain calm when you were driven by a mixture of fear and excitement. The hope in his eyes was enough to give him away, but he was able to swipe a box of taiyaki without being seen. He slipped the package into his thin, torn yukata in an effort to conceal his prize. But, it wasn't enough someone had seen him….
The boy started walking away casually; so as to not draw any unwanted attention to himself and when he was about fifty feet from the stand he took off at a break neck run, his hair getting in his eyes. Maneuvering through a crowd of people who are not going to step out of your way is a difficult task in itself, and the person doing the running is often too concerned with staying on their feet to notice if someone is chasing them. And that was the case with Renji. He was almost to the end of the street, and from there it was just a short walk to the riverbank, and he'd be home free. The smell of the taiyaki alone was worth the trouble he went through to steal it, and as he slowed to a walk to savor the warm, sweet smell of victory—he was thrown to the ground.
"Dammit!" What had tackled him was, small? He twisted his body around as he fell, to avoid crushing his food and what he saw was surprising. A girl, who looked to be his age, was scrambling to get up she had a determined look in her eyes and he knew that look all too well. It was the look he had on his face when he was crouched behind the taiyaki stand, the look all kids in Rukon had; it was survival. "What the hell?! Get offa me!"
The girl was not listening she was lying on top of him, trying to grab his precious taiyaki. He squirmed and started to beat the tiny girl off while protecting his food in the process. Her size was the only disadvantage, otherwise she was winning. She had managed to pin his legs down by kneeling on them and was clawing at his face and neck so he'd let go of what they both wanted. Her blows were well placed and within a few minutes had him on the defensive. Renji was furious, he considered himself to be a decent fighter, and he was currently having his ass handed to him by a small girl, a small girl that was trying to steal his birthday present! His lips curled into a menacing snarl, he managed to free one of his arms and threw his elbow forward. The assailant loosed her grip on him and started coughing uncontrollably; he'd almost crushed her throat. He crashed his fist into the side of her skull and she fell off of him, he scrambled up and grabbed the taiyaki to make a quick getaway. But, was stopped before he could make it five steps, she had grabbed his ankles and dragged him back down. Sharp nails scraped down his legs and he felt blood well up slowly, then start to flow. Out of instinct, he kicked out to get her hands away but all he heard was a sickening crack, as her head made contact with the ground.
He was more or less alright but she was dazed and disoriented, a small trail of blood flowing down the side of her face. He cradled the taiyaki box in his arms like a treasure and took a closer look at the girl. She was small, with long black hair pulled held back by a leather cord. Her yukata was dark green, a gray dragon swirled down the side; it was far too fancy for a street rat. 'She either stole it or…she stole it.' Eyes that were the same color as the yukata opened slowly, blinked a few times and she…smiled at him.
"You gave me one hell of a shot, red." She wiped the blood away like it was nothing, and spit out a bit more. "If you knocked a tooth out, imma kill you."
"You're bleeding a lot…"
"Yeah, that tends to happen when you get kicked in the face."
"I'm not sorry."
"I'm not mad. You don't have to say sorry." She smirked and he disliked her even more, "Although it's the nice thing to do."
"Go to hell." He started to walk away, street fights were normal and shrugged aside once finished, a thing of the past.
"You're kind of a jerk red…"
"I'm the jerk? You tried to steal my food!"
"Oh lighten up, you know the rules. Winner gets the good stuff, and you won. End of story. I'm not gonna try to take it again. I was hungry just like you, so I tried to take it, just like you did. The only difference is that you won and I didn't."
Okay, now he really disliked her. She was able to take away all of the bullshit and just explain their hellish lives as if it didn't matter. It was really annoying! "Yeah, I won. And I'm not gonna 'lighten up', you tried to take away my birthday present. I got every right to be pissed."
"I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I said that I was sorry. I wouldn't have tried to take them if I'd known." She dusted herself off. "I'm glad you won."
"Ummm…thanks."
"The name's Ashi by the way." Renji looked at her as if she had grown two heads, her name meant 'evil'. And even if he did find her strange and irritating, she certainly wasn't evil.
"Renji." He shuffled his feet awkwardly in the dirt, "sorry I kicked you in the face."
"I'm sorry I tried to take your present."
"It's fine…I guess I understand. What are you doing."
Ashi was pulling the cord out of her hair and she smiled. "Happy Birthday Renji!" She presented the piece of leather to him and the smile on her face was infectious, he found himself smiling too.
"Thanks. Errr, what am I supposed to with it."
"You put it in your hair, yours is really long and this'll hold it back and keep it out of your eyes."
"Oh," he touched the straggly ends of his crimson hair; she was right, it was a pain in the ass. "How do I put it in?"
She rolled her eyes, "Come here silly."
Renji felt awkward as she ran her hands through his hair a few times to smooth it out; it was something he'd never experienced before, someone touching him gently and showing him kindness. It made him feel funny and kind of warm inside. He decided that it wasn't a bad feeling though, that he liked it. He began to like her too. "Don't make me look girly."
"Don't worry, it looks cool and kinda spiky." She finished and made a run toward the river, motioning him to follow. He found himself smiling without intending to and he walked after her. Ashi stopped at the water's edge and pulled him over to look at his reflection, "you like it?"
"It's cool. Thanks."
"You can stop thanking me, it's your birthday. Everyone deserves at least one present and someone to spend it with, you have two presents and me." That nice, weird feeling came over Renji again as they sat down on the riverbank together, their bare feet dangling in the water.
At the mention of two presents he remembered the taiyaki, and as he opened the box already anticipating the taste he heard two stomachs growl simultaneously. Dark green and brown eyes met for a brief moment and, almost unconsciously Renji pulled the box closer to him. Ashi, seeing this didn't say a thing and looked out over the horizon instead, she had a faint smile on her face. It was obvious that she was enjoying his company even if he was being selfish. He continued to study her, and was shocked to find that even though there was a faint trail of blood and a smudge of dirt on her face, she looked pretty. Ashi, whose name meant evil, was the kindest person he'd ever met; and he wanted to return her kindness, in whatever way he could.
"Here," he handed her a taiyaki, and some of the filling escaped onto his fingers. "Your stomach's making more noise than mine. Shut it up."
The smile on her face was enough to make even his heart melt, "Thank you." She kissed his cheek and started to eat her fish-shaped cake. He was blushing like crazy and was in such a state of shock that he didn't even touch his until it had gone cold.
