Another chapter is here. And a familiar character comes to play.
Lightningblade49: lol
kleinegirl87: this is time travel story. Hisana met Ichigo first before met Byakuya.
the unsung antihero: First time it goes steamy and the next goes wrong.
Thorndsword: What are you talking about?
clw123cat: She have to push him away because she is not ready to have another child. Taking care of little Rukia is tough enough and add another one could be a hand full.
Guest: Well, keep reading and see.
Harbinger of Kaos: Thank you.
Darknessofearth12: Thank you for the praise.
Guest: Because this is a new story of course.
Guest: Who knows.
Enjoy!
"He's got a weapon!" Renji Abarai said to the other three boys, who were following behind him while carrying what they could take. Sweat stung his eyes and his lungs burned as he ran from the disheveled looking man flailing the hand-scythe. "Move faster!"
"Come back here you brats!" yelled the man as he chased them down the alley. He was surprisingly nimble for someone who was in a drunken stupor only a few minutes ago. It was only a matter of time before he caught up to one of them if they couldn't shake him off, but his longer legs made that a lot more difficult than they expected.
Renji gritted his teeth. He was in charge of this ragtag pack, and that meant keeping the three of them safe. If he could just find something to use….
Near the center of the alley, where there was a narrow passage from the positioning of the buildings, Renji spotted a girl with purple eyes peeking her head out. She gestured for them to enter it before disappearing inside of the opening. He figured that it would be narrow enough for them to get through and at least slow down the man chasing them.
"Bank right!" he said to the others as they reached the passage. It was narrow enough for them to squeeze through like he thought, but the man didn't stop trying to chase them.
"You brats think I can't get—" His threat was cut-off as a ceramic pot dropped down from the roof and shattered against his head. The man dropped his hand-scythe as he stumbled back a few steps until he slid down against the wall and rubbed his head, wailing in pain.
Renji looked up to see that girl from before climbing down off the roof and coming to a drop at the mouth of the passage, picking up the man's hand-scythe.
She whipped her head around to see the man starting to come out of the pain and put the weapon in the back of her kimono's sash. Then she jumped over them, grabbing Renji's hand and pulling him with her towards the other end. "I know somewhere safe we can hide nearby."
"Lead on," Renji said. He wasn't exactly in a position to argue. They had gained only seconds judging by how the man rose to his feet. And they were all tired and hungry. At this rate, he would catch them unless they found someplace to hide.
She grinned and ran towards another alley curving to the left. The way she navigated through the streets like a native left him wanting to peg her as someone who lived in the district for some time. He hadn't seen her before, but it was a big district and his pack hadn't run this far before.
The only thing that really left him unconvinced that she was like them, kids who were left to fend for themselves and became good at navigating the streets out of necessity, was her kimono. It was too clean and almost undamaged. That meant she had been taking care of them, or someone else had considering how his group's tattered clothes were barely functional.
She came to a stop at a door, opened it, and ushered them inside. They piled inside the dark room and she closed it, pressing her ear to it to listen as the guy ran by. She cracked the door open and peeked her head out. She pulled it back in after a second and gave them a thumbs-up. "Okay, he's gone for now."
The others sighed in relief and sat down on the floor while Renji took a look around. They seemed to be in some kind of pottery workshop, which explained the one she dropped on the guy's head when she helped them. There were two futons folded in the corner, one of which she sat on and kicked her feet.
"You guys were lucky I was there," she said, pulling out the hand-scythe out. "Someone could have gotten hurt."
"Bah!" Renji said. His pride wouldn't let him admit she was right. "We almost lost him on our own."
"You're a horrible liar," the girl said as she smiled smugly at him. "Be grateful—"
The front door opened and revealed an older-looking version of the purple-eyed girl in front of him. She was huffing and looked pretty mad. The purple-eyed girl flinched as the older woman's eyes fell onto her, and Renji noticed that the hand-scythe had disappeared.
"Rukia!" the older woman said sharply. "Where have you been, young lady?"
The girl Renji now knew as Rukia flinched at her tone and rubbed the back of her neck. Her eyes fell on him and he could see that something clicked in them. She hopped off the futon and came over to set her hand on Renji's shoulder. "I was just outside making friends my own age, Hisana-nee."
The older woman called Hisana crossed her arms and raised one of her eyebrows. "Really?"
"Uh-huh." Rukia pushed Renji towards the taller woman. "Introduce yourselves."
Not exactly prepared for the spotlight being placed on him, he stumbled on his words. "Um.. I... uh… I'm Renji Abarai." He gestured to his brown-haired friend that was roughly his size and had one eye covered by his hair. "That's Kanta."
"I'm Misobu," his black-haired friend added, dressed in a yellow kosode with a green-sash that clashed with the colors.
"And I'm Tobi," the largest one said, his hair in a spiky top-knot.
"Hmm…." Hisana rubbed her chin as she stared at all of them. It felt like she was judging them somehow. She turned to Misobu and asked, "When's the last time any of you have eaten?"
"Ahh…" He looked down at the package he was holding, food bundled up in it. "We were planning on eating now."
"But you're all filthy…." She picked at Kanta's clothing and pulled at one of the loose threads. "This won't do at all."
Renji frowned. "What's that's supposed to mean?"
She ignored him and plucked the package from Kanta. "Rukia, get the tub warmed up. Ichigo just filled it this morning so all you have to do is start the fire. I'll work on something for all of you to eat."
"Yes, Hisana-nee," Rukia said. She ran over to a door on the side of the room and opened it to reveal a bathroom that had a wood-fed tub inside of it. She disappeared inside and closed the door behind her.
Hisana immediately went over to the futon and reached between the folds to find the hand-scythe. A frown marred her face. "Oh, that girl really thought she could hide something like this from me…."
"It's our fault," Renji said. He didn't know what kind of relationship they had as sisters, but he wasn't going to let her get in trouble because of them. He paid back his debts. "She was helping us get away from this guy chasing us. We'll leave now so—"
She spun on her heel and glared at them all in a way that made the boys shiver. "Listen here. I'm not letting a bunch of hungry and dirty children go without full stomachs and being clean. So sit down and wait for the tub to warm up."
"Yes ma'am!" they all said in unison, falling to their knees in a perfect seiza position until she took the weapon and disappeared into the backroom. They stayed that way until Rukia popped her head out of a crack in the bathroom door and mouthed an apology.
Renji was left wondering in silence about just what kind of mess he got himself in getting mixed up with these two.
[-o0o-]
Ichigo slowly worked alongside Tetsu as they underwent their apprenticeship under the carpenter, which was a grueling affair every day. The man had been demanding in his standards, but it was because of that Ichigo was able to get a decent bathroom and tub built for Hisana and Rukia.
"Man that guy's a real slave driver," Tetsu said as he carved out a piece of wood from a tree. The head carpenter believed in the whole 'if you want something done, do it yourself' theory. "I can't believe he's made us do this over and over today. It'll be dark before we get home at this rate."
Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. Boring as it was, he was used to it by this point. Plus, he could use Flash Step so time wasn't a factor to him. "You knew what you were getting into. I just hope Rukia doesn't eat all my dinner because I'm late again."
Tetsu laughed. "You're at least lucky enough to have two women waiting for you to get back…."
Ichigo noticed how he trailed off and his face scrunched up in thought. "What's wrong?"
"Keep an eye on Rukia-chan," he said with his voice tempered and cautious. "It might be just a rumor, but supposedly children with spiritual power have been disappearing in the outer districts. More than a few are blaming a Soul Reaper for it."
Ichigo stopped carving and frowned, narrowing his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"You know the only time we ever see a Soul Reaper around these parts is when those monsters pop up," Tetsu said. "That hasn't happened in our district in a few years, so the fact that a Soul Reaper is wandering around on the outskirts of the district before the disappearances stands out."
Ichigo could see the logic behind that. Still, he'd have to do his own investigation into the matter.
"Something has to be done about the district," Tetsu continued. "It's bad enough that there isn't really any place for children to play, but now there's this. I want to rebuild the entire district someday and make it a safe place. "
"One day," Ichigo agreed. He wasn't sure how to pull it off, but one day they would make it happen. However, until then, he planned to make a quick stop at Hisana's place during lunch.
[-o0o-]
"Hahahahahaha!" Rukia laughed, pointing to all of the boys sitting across from her near the flaming hearth. They were wearing some of her spare kosodes that her older sister had gotten her to sleep in, but since they were for girls they all had floral patterns and soft colors. Renji's in particular was pink.
"Will you stop laughing at us?" Renji asked with a pout. His cheeks were red from embarrassment. He wanted his old clothes back, but the scary lady had said they needed something clean to wear before lunch.
"Your sister is a frightening woman," Misobu said between bites, looking over his shoulder to the bathroom. The door was closed, but they could hear her cleaning out the tub. "The food is delicious though."
On that they all could agree as they sat in front of the fire with bowls of rice, grilled fish, and pieces of persimmons for treats. It was easily the most they had ever eaten at once and they were savoring every bite.
"This is the most wonderful meal I've had in my life!" Tobi said with tears of joy trickling out of his eyes. "You're so lucky to be able to eat like this so often!"
Renji said nothing as he wolfed down his food in silence. It had been roughly two days in his case since he had eaten and he couldn't argue with them on the taste. He only took pause from enjoying his meal when he felt the weight of eyes on him and looked up to see Rukia staring at him now that she had settled down from laughing.
"What?" he managed to ask with a mouthful of food. "What'd ya want?"
"Thanks for trying to cover for me, Porky," she said. "We'll call it even for the save earlier."
Renji almost coughed out food he had at the name. "Porky?"
"You eat like a pig and you're wearing pink," she said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Renji swallowed his food and then pointed his chopsticks at her. "Shaddup! I eat like this because I have a lot of spiritual power."
Rukia smirked. "So do I, but you don't see me eating like a pig."
"Do not." Renji said. "You're lying."
"Do too." Rukia said back. "I bet I have more than you."
"Do not!" Renji said, taking a stand. "There's no way a shrimp like you has that much spiritual power!"
"Do too!" Rukia said louder, rising to her feet. "Ichi-nii said that one day I can be a Soul Reaper just like him!"
"Rukia!" The door to the bathroom slid open with a loud thud and revealed Hisana with a scowl on her face. "What have I told you about telling others that?"
"Not to tell anyone else because he might go away…." Rukia's shoulders slumped and she lowered her head. "Sorry, Hisana-nee…."
"And you!" Hisana whipped her head around and glared at Renji, who almost jumped out of his skin. "You should have better manners when you're eating in someone else's house as a guest!"
"Yes ma'am!" Renji said in a hurry. This woman scared him. "Sorry ma'am!"
She wagged her finger at the both of them. "Honestly, the both of you should be ashamed of yourselves and—" The front door slid open before she could go any further and revealed a orange-haired young man. She immediately went from scolding them to sounding as surprised as she looked. "Ichigo, you're back early!"
"I ran over to talk to you about something while we're on break," he said as he stepped inside. "What was with all the shouting?"
Hisana's face took on a minor crimson hue. She didn't want him to hear her like that. "Ah, that's… it's nothing."
Ichigo took stock of the others in the room. He didn't recognize three of the boys, but the red-headed one was unmistakable. "Renji, is that you?"
"Have we met?" Renji frowned in thought, trying to recall when that had happened. Maybe someone he had pilfered from? But no matter how hard he tried, it didn't come to mind.
Ichigo covered his eyes at the blunder. He should have expected Renji to be around if Rukia was, but the district was so big and he hadn't seen him before. "Let's say that we have in passing."
"Ichi-nii!" Rukia ran over and threw herself at his leg, clinging to it. "You're not going to leave us forever because I told them, are you?"
He raised an eyebrow in confusion before kneeling down to pat her head. "Easy there. Tell them what?"
"That you were a Soul Reaper," she confessed. "He was being mean and then Hisana got mad at me, and—"
"Okay, okay," he said, patting her head. "I'm not mad. I have a feeling they can keep it a secret, can't they?"
The kids all nodded. It wasn't like they had anyone to tell in the first place, but far be it for them to risk incurring the wrath of Hisana.
Ichigo continued. "And your sister isn't mad at you either. She's just worried about you like a mother would be. She can't help but want to look after kids like all of you."
"Right…." Hisana said, rubbing her arm sheepishly. "It's not so bad, even if a bit tiring."
Ichigo looked Rukia in the eyes. "But I do need you to stay inside the house with the other kids until morning, okay?"
"Is there something wrong?" Hisana asked while her little sister nodded.
"Tetsu told me that some of the kids in the district with spiritual power have been disappearing, meaning Renji and Rukia would be likely targets," Ichigo said. "This doesn't sit right with me, so I'm going out after work to search for the person responsible and the missing kids after work."
"I'll look after them then," Hisana said. "Just be careful. If something happens to you, Rukia and I would be…."
Ichigo stood up and smiled at her. "I'll be fine, but thanks for worrying about me."
[-o0o-]
Renji watched the two exchanged a look and felt something pass between them, but he was utterly clueless to what the context was. Whatever the case, it seemed to be enough to render the scary woman nice. The change was so abrupt that he wondered if it was a split personality of some kind. He never did understand women, so for all he knew all women were like that in the first place.
Leaving that question aside, too many things about this didn't add up to him. First, there was the fact that this Ichigo-guy popped up and knew his name when they never met before. Then, there was the claim that he was a Soul Reaper, which meant he should have a lot of spiritual power from what Renji knew, but he couldn't feel a thing off the man.
And then there was Hisana suddenly agreeing to watch them like stray puppies for the night without asking for anything in return. That just didn't happen in this district. The adults were all either mean or uncaring, yet she had bathed and fed them before being asked to watch them—supposedly for their own safety.
It was too suspicious to ignore. He wondered if she was normally mean but put on an act of generosity to lure them in for some reason. But what did she gain from it? Whatever it was, Rukia was probably in on it too.
Renji looked over to his friends still eating. He doubted they shared the same thoughts that he did since they were just happy to eat warm food and have a place with four walls. They hadn't even bathed in weeks because getting clean water was a pain and the stream was too far most of the time. Whatever was going on, whether these people were just stupidly nice or planning something, it would be best if they all left later tonight.
He was going to hate having to make them leave it all behind, but it was his job to keep the others safe. He promised them he would when they all banded together to survive in this place. With his mind made up, Renji watched as Ichigo gave the pair of sisters a hug and then left out again.