I am so sorry for the delay in updating! I just haven't been on the computer lately. But I'll try to do better for the next chapter.
Renji blinked. Was Rukia really holding what he thought she was holding…?
"Z…Zabimaru…?"
"Go on. Feel free to thank me."
Renji took the zanpaku-to from her. "How'd you get Zabimaru back from Yachiru?"
"Candy. Lots of candy. You owe me."
"That's all it took…?"
"Yeah…but she wanted me to tell you that it's a crappy jar opener."
"So…so she did use…that little twerp…!"
"Oh, and Renji…?" said Rukia sweetly.
"What?"
"Next time you're playing poker, don't bet your zanpaku-to, you moron!"
"Okay, got it! No betting the zanpaku-to!"
"I'm glad we have an understanding…"
…
"--and she said it just like that! I thought she was gonna bite my head off!" said Renji. He was next door at Rangiku and Izuru's house.
"Well, it was pretty stupid for you to bet Zabimaru…" said Izuru.
"I get the point! But see, I have a theory. Rukia's stressed out, so she's taking it out on me, because she can't say anything to the certain unwanted visitor who's actually the one stressing her out…"
"Maybe she needs another night out!" said Rangiku, "So she can forget the fact that you and her brother are living under the same roof."
"A night out, huh…" Renji actually took a minute to think things over. "Actually…yeah, maybe…Rangiku, the obnoxious visiting noble will be leaving soon, right? He's been here for a while now."
"It hasn't even been two weeks", Rangiku replied.
Renji looked horror-stricken. "What?! Are you serious?! No! I can't go on like this! He's not going to leave early…lousy, interfering taichou…"
"Oh, stop being a baby", said Rangiku, "How bad can he be?"
"Why don't you spend a day with him and see?! I mean, seeing him here and there is not the same as living with him! It's like he's watching my every move, and I can't have a single screw-up!"
"Well, see, you got yourself into this mess", said Rangiku, "Who's the one who was pursuing a noble, disregarding the consequences? And not only that, but the one who never bothered to ask permission from the head of the Kuchiki family, who just happens to be said noble's older brother? And who ran off with this noble?"
"Hey, it takes two, you know. She agreed. It's not like I forced her or anything."
"Did she ever mention getting her brother's approval?"
"Maybe. Once. Twice. A few times. But so what? It's over and done. It's not like asking would have made any difference. He'd approve of me and Rukia when hell freezes over!"
"So you're not going to make any effort at all to get along? Didn't you ever consider that your lack of tolerance for each other could be the reason she's stressed?"
"Look, I'm not in the mood to put up with some high-and-mighty speech, Rangiku. Just…just one night with Rukia! Just one night! That's all I want! One night of just me and her…is that too much to ask?"
"Well, what are you waiting for? Do it, then. If it'll put you in a better mood, you'll be doing everyone a favor."
"Well, easier said than done. What do I do with…him?"
"What do you mean? He's a grown man. I don't think you have to worry about leaving him home alone. The mean bad guys won't hurt him and give him boo-boos", said Rangiku.
"Yeah, I think he can defend himself", Izuru added.
"That is not what I meant!" Renji snarled, "I was thinking more along the lines of--oh, I don't know--that he might protest?"
"So what? You're a married couple. It's not like you're doing anything bad. You just wanna do what married couples do", said Rangiku.
"I know. But, see, I don't think you quite get the point. The other half of the married couple in question is Rukia. Rukia is a Kuchiki. And as a Kuchiki, she does care about the opinion of Byakuya Kuchiki. And if he complains about it, Rukia will listen. And she'll pull some crap of 'Oh, I can't leave my poor nii-sama', and blah blah blah…"
"Well, you don't necessarily have to be out all night", said Izuru, "Can't you accomplish what you want to in a couple of hours?"
"Well…yeah…it's just, going to a place where her brother isn't in the next room over is the problem."
"I'm sure he won't protest too loudly if you and Rukia go out for a little while", said Rangiku, "I mean, not unless you did something stupid and said something that might come back to bite you in the ass later."
Renji came to realize that the things he'd said to Byakuya the night before might fall into this category.
"Besides", Rangiku continued, "You don't want to blatantly say 'Oh, me and Rukia are going to get a room' or he'll definitely have something to say about it. Do it under the pretense of a date. Take her out to dinner first or something. Then go, have a little fun, and come back home before he misses you. You can't approach this stupidly. If you stay out all night, he'll see right through you."
"He could just say he got drunk and fell asleep somewhere", said Izuru.
"Nah, that might work if it was only Renji, not for both Renji and Rukia. Because proper young nobles don't drink sake."
"They drink their stupid tea", said Renji.
"Anyway, we'll help you convince him to let you and Rukia go", said Rangiku, "I mean, taking her out on a date, it'll look like you're taking good care of your girl, right? But we could make it a double date…"
"What? No offense, but having you and Izuru around would kill the mood."
"Stop being stupid. I meant, we pretend like it's a double date around Byakuya Kuchiki. Then it'll be more like there's somebody keeping an eye on you. But then later we'll split up and you two do your own thing."
"Well…okay, but if Rukia finds out about this, she'll probably get mad…"
"Why not just talk to her about it?"
"When am I supposed to do that?! Where Rukia is, he is usually somewhere nearby, and I am not having that sort of discussion where he might hear!"
"Is that all you think about?! I meant, just ask her if she wants to go out on a date. How about tomorrow?"
"That's short notice."
"Tomorrow it is, then."
All right. Like I said, I'll try to update sooner next time.
