Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or anyone or anything from Bleach. Nor do I own the city of Nagasaki. It's as simple as that. Everything else, however, is mine. :D

Expletive Warning: the f-bomb gets dropped a couple times in this chapter.

Chapter 7: Friends

It had been week and it was Saturday again. Renji's extended training sessions on the weekends were exhausting, but Sachi would readily admit that she was learning a lot. Currently she was sitting against the wall of the roof taking a break. As she did so she examined the guard of her zanpakuto.

This had become a daily ritual for her after Sachi had noticed the guard had changed. And after examining it everyday she had to conclude that it was changing gradually. The points of the lighting shapes had started to line up and she now thought that the guard was beginning to resemble the mouth of some kind of vicious creature. Sachi had no idea what this could mean. She had brought it up to Renji but he didn't know either. So Sachi continued to examine the changes to the sword's guard everyday in the hopes that she would have an epiphany.

"Alright breaks over," Renji announced from the opposite side of the roof where he had been messing with his soul pager. "Let's get started again."

Sachi stood and sheathed her zanpakuto earning a frown from Renji. "You forgot didn't you," Sachi told him with a sigh.

"Forgot what?"

"We're stopping early today. I've got plans with my friends remember?"

Renji thought for a moment. He did remember vaguely, now that he thought about it, that Sachi had mentioned something to him about this a few days ago. Unconsciously he raised a hand and started scratching the back of his head. He didn't like losing training time, but Sachi's progress lately had been as good as always. And if he had already agreed…

He looked back to Sachi who was watching him a bit apprehensively. "Alright," he sighed. "I guess we can just pick up here again tomorrow."

"Yay! Thank you!" Sachi exclaimed. She rushed back to the fire escape. "Now I just need to change and get ready." Renji followed her amused.

They got back to Sachi's room and she jumped back into her body. She then bustled out to her bathroom to change and Renji sat down at her desk. She came back in a few minutes later and began throwing things into a purse.

"Are you going to be ok staying in here by yourself?" Sachi asked Renji, after her fussing with her hair one more time in the mirror.

Renji snorted. "I'll be fine."

"Alright," Sachi said turning towards the door. She felt bad leaving him here alone like this, but she hadn't been able to convince her friends that it would be a good idea to bring him along. "Just be quiet and make sure my family doesn't notice you're here."

Renji rolled his eyes. "Just get going already. You're going to be late." Sachi gave him a quick smile, opened the door, and was gone.

Renji sighed as he leaned back in the desk chair. He would be just fine this evening. He didn't really care one way or the other about Sachi's friend's opinions of him. Besides she deserved to have a normal human life and do normal human things. At least as much as she good while being a substitute Soul Reaper.

No, Renji would be just fine. Though the room did seem a bit dimmer without Sachi in it.

Sachi stood on a street corner with Mao and Yuzuki. They were waiting for Akio and Kenta to show, but Sachi wasn't surprised they were late. Akio and Kenta usually went to the arcade on Saturdays and since Akio was a bad loser they were almost always late because Akio wouldn't let Kenta leave until he beat him at something.

Not that Sachi minded them being late. It was nice for her to be able to hang around and chat with just Mao and Yuzuki.

"Hey," Mao hissed suddenly. "Those guys have been staring at us for a while. It's creeping met out!" she whispered.

Yuzuki and Sachi turned and looked up the street in the direction Mao had indicated. Three guys stood around the entrance to a bar smoking cigarettes. And all three were indeed leering nastily at them. By looking at their clothes Sachi decided that they probably belonged to one of the local gangs.

One of the men took a final drag on his cigarette and flicked it on the ground, the other two quickly following suit. Then they began to casually stroll up the street towards them.

Mao whimpered and Yuzuki 'hmphed' irritably. "Come on," Sachi said, grabbing both their arms and pulling them up the street.

"What, we're going to run from those thugs?" Yuzuki asked like Sachi had offended her.

"No," Sachi replied glancing over her shoulder and seeing that the three men were following them. "We're going to take a walk around the block and lose them."

But their walk quickly turned into a trek. The men were persistent and followed them no matter how thick the crowds on the sidewalks were. Mao was becoming more and more nervous the longer they walked and even Yuzuki had lost her bravado by the time they entered a more rundown part of town.

Sachi, now just as worried as her friends, pulled them into an empty dead-end street as her anxiety got the better of her. The three men were quick to corner them as they tried to turn around.

"Where you girls going?" one asked.

"Yea, we just want to…chat," the second one said, laughing.

"Oh, hey look," the last one said casually as he hung back towards the entrance to the street. From his smugly superior air Sachi was sure that he was the leader. "Everyone else is here." His statement was answered by laughter and greetings as several more men began to filter into the street.

Sachi pulled Mao and Yuzuki down to the end of the street and the men, at least 10 in all, began to advance on them. The men catcalled to them as they came and raked their eyes over them in a way that made Sachi feel disgusting. Beside her Mao was close to tears and Yuzuki had begun to tremble. Sachi couldn't just let this happen, so she stepped in front of her friends and spread her arms protectively.

"Look! We've got a volunteer!" one of the men yelled, followed by whistles and jeers.

"Don't come near us!" Sachi yelled back as defiantly as she could. The men just laughed.

"Come on, don't be that way honey," the guy closest to them said in a manner that he probably thought was seductive. It was all Sachi could do not to recoil in disgust as he began to advance towards them. She reached into her pocket, searching for her gikongan. She would easily be able to deal with these thugs if she was a Soul Reaper. Sachi became frantic when she didn't find it. How could she have forgotten it?

"Geez. And everyone keeps calling me a thug."

His voice rang loud, clear, and commanding down the street and everyone turned their stares to him. Sachi's heart jumped with hope. "Renji?" she heard Yuzuki gasp behind her.

Renji stood coolly at the entrance to the street, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He considered the scene before him with contempt. "Who the hell are you?" one of the men shouted.

"It's not really important who I am," Renji replied casually. "Just know that I'm not about to let a bunch of scum like you guys jump innocent girls."

"You've sure got a big mouth." The leader said scornfully. "I guess we'll just have to teach you a lesson so you won't mess with us again. What gang are you with anyways? You can take the message back to your leader about not interferin' with us."

A vein in Renji's forehead popped. Why did all these stupid human punks keep thinking that he was some kind of thug? "You're gonna teach me a lesson huh?" Renji growled. He pulled his hands out his pockets and began to crack his knuckles. He hadn't had a good fight since he had come to the real world and something like this would be the perfect way to work out his frustrations. "Bring it on!"

The leader looked pissed too. "Alright boys. He's askin' for it." With a yell several of the guys jumped towards Renji and pandemonium broke loose. For Renji it really was too easy as he ducked and punched. Humans were just slow.

Down at the end of the street two of the guys turned back towards Sachi and her friends, undoubtedly in an attempt to grab them in the chaos. They never got the chance, however, as Sachi's fist collided with one and her foot with the other. "Stay here!" Sachi shouted at Mao and Yuzuki and she jumped into the fray.

It had been a long time since Sachi had done any serious hand-to-hand fighting, but it was easy enough with most of the guys being so distracted by Renji. She punched and kicked her way through the crowd until one of the guys pushed her into an open area in the middle of the street.

"Renji!" Renji turned at the sound of his name to see Sachi stumbling towards him, her face contorted in concentration. Suddenly a look of horror crossed it and she shouted "Duck!". Renji did as he was bid, hearing the whistle of a knife passing over his head.

Sachi stopped fighting her momentum and charged forward. She planted her hands on Renji's shoulders and using them as a platform, as he was still crouched down, she swung her leg up and out and delivered a kick to the guy who had just swiped at him with a knife. Not wanting to waste an opportunity Renji ducked out from underneath Sachi and knocked out the guy who had chased after her. They both fell back until they collided and stood back-to-back panting.

"You all right?" Renji asked Sachi over his shoulder.

"Yea, I'm fine," Sachi replied. "Let's just finish this."

They were surrounded in a loose circle with just five guys now and the leader. "What the fuck are you pussies waiting for?" the leader screamed, enraged. "Fuckin' kill them already!" In response the other men began to pull knives, short clubs, and even a pair of brass knuckles from pockets and the insides their jackets.

Sachi tensed. This was about to get a lot more dangerous.

"You ready?" Renji asked her quietly.

"Yea."

"On three. One…two…now!"

Sachi and Renji both ran forward. It was over quickly after that, in flurry of punches and kicks and flying weapons. Sachi knocked her last guy out and looked to her friends in triumph to see the leader charging towards them, a large knife in his hand. Sachi moved before she thought, chasing after the leader. She caught up to him, seized the back of his shirt, and pulled hard. He stumbled backwards and lashed out with the knife. Sachi let out a short scream as the steel bit into her arm and she fell backwards, landing hard.

The leader turned on her and raised the knife, his face contorted in his frenzy. "I'm gonna kill you, you bitch!"

Renji, who had seen Sachi chase the man and then fall, felt an unfamiliar fury course through his body. While he would never deny enjoying a good fight once in a while, he was not a violent man by nature and his first instinct had never been to kill or maim unless there was a very good reason to do so. Something inside him had snapped, however, when he saw Sachi's blood being flung from the tip of the man's knife and he was overcome by the irrational urge to tear the man limb from limb.

Now the man stood over Sachi, the knife rising as he prepared to inflict another injury, her friends screaming behind them. Like hell Renji was going to let that happen. The bastard was so focused on Sachi that he didn't notice Renji until he was practically on top of him. Renji pulled back his fist and punched the man as hard as he could. He felt rather satisfied as bone cracked beneath his knuckles.

The man flopped to the ground like a dead fish. Renji stood frozen for a moment, panting, as the strange rage subsided. Then he turned towards Sachi and offered her a hand up. "You ok?"

"I'll live" Sachi replied, accepting his help. Her smile wasn't as bright as usual, however. Renji quickly noticed her left hand wrapped around her right forearm. Blood dripped between her fingers.

"Shit, you're bleeding."

"It's not that bad. Really!" Sachi added as Renji gave her a skeptical look.

"Sachi!" Mao and Yuzuki came running up and Yuzuki threw her arms around Renji's neck, effectively startling him into stillness.

"You did it!" Yuzuki squealed, letting Renji go. "You're so amazing!"

"Sachi, you're bleeding!" Mao's relief had turned to worry bordering on panic.

"It's really not that bad…" Sachi said soothingly, but Mao had already begun to root around in her bag, as Yuzuki let go of Renji and began to flutter fretfully around Mao, asking if she could help.

"Oh where is it…" she moaned. Then suddenly she pulled a white handkerchief out with a cry of triumph. She dropped her bag and grabbed Sachi's arm, and began to awkwardly try and tie the handkerchief around the cut.

"Here, I can do it." Renji offered, holding out his hand. Mao stared at him wide-eyed for a moment and then handed the handkerchief to him. She still look frightened of him, Renji observed, but she hadn't flinched when he'd taken the handkerchief.

Sachi allowed Renji to examine the wound. It wasn't very deep but it was quite long. Not for the first time, and almost certainly not the last, Renji wished he were better at kido. If he were halfway decent healing the cut would have been a piece of cake. With his skill level, however, he would probably blow them both up if he tried.

With a sigh he did what he knew he could to make due. Quickly, and with the ease of practice, Renji tore the handkerchief into three strips and tied them deftly around her wound. "That should hold for now," he told her as he finished.

"Thanks," she replied, giving him a real smile this time.

That was when they heard to male voices calling them. "Akio!" Mao exclaimed excitedly and dashed out of the street.

"That's Kenta too," Yuzuki added, and she followed Mao at a more sedate pace, clearly trying to regain some of her 'cool' attitude.

Renji turned back to Sachi to see her watching him her hands on her hips. "So you followed me," she said, her tone cool.

Renji had had a feeling that Sachi wouldn't be too happy with him if she found out, but at this point he didn't really care. "Well, yea. What would have happened if a Hollow had shown up?" Renji then pulled her forgotten gikongan from his pocket and held it up.

Sachi looked sheepish as she took it back from him. "Fair enough," she mumbled, putting the gikongan safely in her pocket. She looked up at him again. "I don't really like that you followed me, but I'm glad that you did. You saved us. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't been here. Thank you," she finished, sincerely.

"It's no big deal," Renji replied, a bit embarrassed. He noticed the fondness in Sachi's gaze as she look towards where her friends had gone.

"You really care about them, huh?" he asked her, thinking of how she had gone after the leader without a second thought about her own safety.

"Of course," Sachi answered, affectionately. "They mean everything to me."

"You're dad's like that too…" Renji said softly, suddenly lost in the past. He was brought back by a snort from Sachi. He looked at her confused to see her shoot him an expression of incredulity. Renji raised an eyebrow at her questioningly, but before he could ask her anything her friends turned back into the street.

"Wow, you're weren't kidding. There really were a bunch of guys," Kenta commented, looking over at the men lying prone on the ground behind Sachi and Renji.

"I told you," Yuzuki replied, petulance in her tone.

Akio, his arm around Mao's shoulders, surveyed the scene and walked up until he was in front of Renji. Renji was entirely unsure what to make of this, as Akio had always been the one that was most opposed to his presence. Mao gave Renji an encouraging look.

Akio turned his cold gaze on Renji. "Did you knock all those guys out?"

"I didn't do it by myself," Renji answered, reaching his hand up to scratch the back of his head. "Sachi took a bunch of them out too."

Akio considered him silently for a long moment and Renji had to squash the urge to fidget. Abruptly Akio shoved his hand forward and holding it out to Renji. "You're alright Abarai," he said solemnly.

"Er…thanks," Renji replied, grasping Akio's hand.

They firmly shook hands once and then Akio turned away. "Let's go."

The mood seemed to instantly lift. Kenta slapped Renji's back in a comradely sort of way as he passed and Yuzuki latched enthusiastically onto his arm and dragged him along behind the other three.

"What just happened?" Renji asked Sachi turning around as far as he could. He looked utterly mystified.

Sachi simply grinned at him. She was extremely pleased that her friends had finally accepted Renji.

Author's Note:

Chapter 7! So this chapter was actually supposed to be the first half of one chapter and the next chapter would have been the second half, but this one ended up being a lot longer than expected so I just decided to break them into two. However, since they were originally supposed to be one, the second chapter 8 is almost finished and will be posted soon. Like really soon. Like it's done and all I have to do is edit it.

While this chapter is not hugely important in my overarching storyline, Renji being friends with Sachi's friends is necessary because he needs to be able to interact with them in later chapters. I'm pleased with how this one turned out though. The next chapter will be more important.

Also I'm taking a semester off of grad school to do this other training program (which will hopefully get me a job). This means that I pretty much have an extra month to write before I have to do school stuff so my updates should be pretty regular until the end of February.

FOUR MORE REVIEWS! An enormous thanks to my wonderful reviewers Red6, Black Cat Angel, Luafua, and bored411!

Thanks for reading!

imagination junkie