Chapter 10: Providence

Characters/Pairings: RenjiTatsuki

Rating: T, at most.

Summary: A warm memory is reborn in Tatsuki's mind. Tatsuki the not-so-prone to illness has caught the common cold. It's rainy, miserable, and cold.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters!

Note: Thank you for the reviews! I know it's been a while until I posted up Chapter 9, so I'll make it up to you in later chapters.

Memories are remnants of the past…

She remembered that her cousin used to wrap a quilt around her when she was younger, handing her a cup of hot chocolate, miniature marshmallows floating around in the pleasantly brown liquid-reminding her of autumn days and the crisp sound of dried leaves trampled upon by the feet of strangers. She herself had loved walking over the leaves on purpose.

Her cousin had told her to, "Toughen up. Recover and continue fighting, little soldier."

Tatsuki missed those days. The nostalgia crept up to her, haunting her with the memories of her past-the comforting days, the hard days, the pleasant mornings. She missed it all.

Shards of broken glass-every piece a different story.

Her head was clogged with heat and numbness. Her body felt hot, then cold, then warm, and then the heat left her behind. Her nose was stuffed, her throat sore. She tried to keep silent the whole day, so the scratching of her voice against the sides of her throat wouldn't hurt as much. Her body hurt if even a slight poke touched her skin. She felt weak and tired. She wished for those days that her cousin would take care of her, wrapping her in his colorful, but tattered quilt.

During class, her head rested on her folded arms. She was drowsy, but she tried to fight her heavy eyelids. She tried to be alert, to keep her eyes open. Just in case Abarai tried to catch her off guard. Orihime had asked her if she was ill. Tatsuki had just replied with a curt, "I'm fine." Her fever was slowly increasing in heat.

Limp, she walked with a slight stagger towards the door. She didn't pay attention in class the whole time.

"Oi! Arisawa!"

That annoying voice! She could hear it from a mile away, sick or well.

Her head automatically turned to look at him, giving him a weak glare.

"Aren't you gonna try to beat me up or something?"

"No. Shut the hell up and leave me alone."

"What. You think you're too good for me?"

Her mouth opened just a little bit. She wanted to scream at him, but a small, frustrated sigh escaped instead. She bit her lip and just walked out the door. Renji stared at her back, amazed. He was kind of hoping for her to attempt something…maybe even a punch in the arm… But today, she didn't. He knew something was wrong with her.

School was done. That was that. But it was unlike Tatsuki to not pay attention, to look elsewhere, to put her head down and doze off during class. He had to follow her. He didn't know why. He knew whatever she did and whatever was wrong with her wasn't his problem or his business, but his curiosity got the best of him.

Tatsuki was outside, leaning against the wall. "Damn. I forgot an umbrella." She muttered inside her head. It was raining. Chilly breezes touched her with cold hands. She hugged herself. She couldn't run. She was too weak. She could just walk in the rain… It didn't really matter if she died from a cold or not. She was sick already, and it hadn't exactly been a good day for her.

Tatsuki took a step away from the shelter of the school building. She took feeble steps in the rain, her clothes absorbing the water like a baby drinking its milk. Soon enough, the shivering began and her teeth started to click against each other. Her hair was soaked, an inch or two below her chin because of the rain. Her cheeks were red, her forehead burning. But she felt cold. She felt cold in and out. She blinked the water out of her eyes. She couldn't see very well. Her white shirt was now basically see-through, the outline of her bra clearly visible. She wrapped her arms around herself. Her clothes seemed to be drooping.

Renji finally found her, walking in the streets. She was almost a speck, but he could still tell her apart from anyone else. What was she doing in the rain? She could catch a cold. Why the hell did he care, anyway? He shrugged, mentally, and he rushed towards her, jacket in hand.

Tatsuki was now blinded, water drops rolling down her cheeks, mingling with her own salty tears. She didn't know why, but she felt so weak, so helpless. She felt like she needed to let the monster out now, so it could be free. Free and away from her. She dropped to her knees, chest heaving, sobbing. She didn't know why and what the reason was for crying, but she didn't stop. It felt…good. It felt good to cry. It felt good to show her weak side, for once. But she didn't know anyone was watching. She didn't care.

Renji stooped down beside her.

"Oi…Arisawa…" He said, softly. It was almost a whisper.

She looked up at him, wiping her tears with her wet hand. Like it did any good…

"Let's go. Home."

He scooped her up, wrapping his wet jacket around her. Just like her cousin had done when she was sick with the cold or the flu. She closed her eyes, shutting the world out. She didn't care. She didn't mind. She just felt safe, again.

Stories of love, stories of warmth. Stories always to be cherished. Always to be remembered.