Disclaimer: Bleach is a manga created by Kubo Tite, published in Shonen Jump, and Viz Comics. This fanfic is all me though.

Author's Note: The timeline for this fanfic begins just before Abarai Renji shows up, so… this means the fanfic is AU (alternate universe). Please take that into consideration as you read.

June 9, 2005

Close Encounters

A Bleach Fanfiction

By: Shun'u

III: Of Bunnies and Men

Two months she had been missing; for the entirety of those months he had worried and searched for her everywhere, from the Kuchiki family estate to their old haunts in Soul Society to the mortal realm where Soul Reapers were so often sent to dispatch hollows. Despite his diligence not a single clue could be unearthed as to Rukia's whereabouts. And Renji worried. He worried because he knew just how reckless that fool girl could be, and he worried because he knew that he was the only one who would.

For quite some time now Renji had been aware of the tension in Rukia every time her adoptive family was mentioned. Nothing quite so obvious to a stranger or one not intimately keyed in to Rukia's moods and thoughts. But for him, who was her oldest and closest friend, it was clear as the serpentine brooks that ran through the vast grounds of the Kuchiki estate. The reason for her discomfiture was all the more confusing, for Renji thought that being adopted by the Kuchiki family, who were the equivalent to nobility in Soul Society, would have brought her great happiness. But this was not so, as was apparent in Rukia's behavior.

In the forty years that they had adopted her, Renji saw her draw into herself, changing from the boisterous girl that he had known into a solemn young woman with few words and little laughter. Her joie de vivre was nearly extinguished and eyes that had once been curious and bright were now dark and unreadable at the best of times. He once asked her if she was happy, after her adoption, and Rukia had simply replied that life was easier. That was the last time he had asked about her life in that gilded cage, for he had glimpsed for a brief moment such desolation in her dark blue eyes that he feared knowing any more.

As time passed he had visited less. It was not that she did not welcome his visits, or that either of them had changed, but because he knew that he did not belong there with the nobles. His aspirations had always been to become a captain and leader of his own division of shinigami, but they did not exceed beyond that. He was a person used to depending upon his own ingenuity and preferred to lead a simple existence. Being surrounded by all that glitter in the Kuchiki household was stifling. It was not until much later that he realized Rukia felt the same way. By then it was too late to take away the loneliness evident in her every glance. He couldn't bring back the sparkle in her eyes.

And then she disappeared.

Abarai Renji was not exactly what one would describe as friendly or approachable. In fact, he fairly radiated anti-socialism on an alarmingly regular basis. Whether this was due to the fact that he had grown up as an orphan who roamed the streets scrounging for food and shelter, or if it was a trait inherent in his genetic make-up, was never quite clear to anyone except for maybe Rukia – who knew him best. However, regardless of how he came to be his way, Vice Captain Abarai was not a person who encouraged friendly chats and overt gestures of concern from others. If he was in a foul mood then others were highly encouraged to stay out of his path lest they desired to be cleaved in two. If he was in a good mood then it was acceptable for others to conduct conversations with him so long as they kept the conversation short and concise. From the day that Kuchiki Rukia was reported as missing in action, he had been in a foul mood.

Thus it was that Renji found that he was quite alone during his hunts over the last two weeks. Although this was desirable to him for many reasons – as he did not have to worry about some half trained rookie getting in his way during a battle – he was not oblivious to the fact that other shinigami were avoiding him either. Whatever the reason for their avoidance, he hoped that they would continue to do so, for if they found out what he was learning then Rukia would be in dire straits.

Renji scowled down at the mundane scene unfolding beneath him from his position at the top of the school. He had found Rukia a week ago when he had sensed large amounts of spiritual energy originating out of Karakura city. It was a Sunday, one of the days that humans considered a holiday, so the streets were not busy. Summer heat had been dampened by a late evening rain the day before, and the skies had cleared. The humidity that was always present in Japan was nearly nonexistent. Renji had been returning from a successful hunt when he had felt such a swirling mix of energies that he had stopped mid-air to change directions and investigate as to the source of that power.

The last thing he had expected to see was Menos Grande breaking through the barrier that separated the in-between from the human world. On top of that he had to witness as a fool of a boy barely beyond weaning age chased off Menos Grande with a ridiculously large zanpaku-to. But neither of these things had shocked him, for at the time he had honestly mistaken the boy for a shinigami. What put him into a state of shock was something else altogether. For there, standing by the boy and looking as though she didn't have any duties or responsibilities in the world, dressed in human clothes, and using a temporary gigai was Rukia.

In that moment Renji made a spontaneous decision. He did not reveal himself to Rukia, but instead cloaked his aura to avoid her detection. That day began what would be seven endless days of disturbing discovery for Renji. A friend whom he had once thought to understand best, turned out to be a near stranger as he watched from afar the changes wrought during her time spent with humans. Nothing could have proven this observation more than what he presently witnessed.

"Kuchiki-san, would you like to try some of my homemade sakura-mochi?" Mizuiro asked.

Rukia blinked at the pink and green concoction being offered to her, not quite sure if it was real or plastic with its perfect coloring and glossy texture. "Um…"

"Eh?" Keigo pointed at the large bento box filled with colorful rice-cake desserts in Mizuiro's lap. "Where'd you get that, Mizuiro? One of your older women making lunch for you?"

A faint blush spread across Mizuiro's cheeks at Keigo's typical tactlessness. "Ah, well, you see..."

Seeing Mizuiro fumble for an answer that didn't make him sound like a freeloading womanizer, Chad interceded quietly, "They look good, Mizuiro. It must have taken a lot of time and effort to make them."

This brought a cheerful smile to Mizuiro's face. "Don't they? Noriko-chan's family owns a pastry shop so she learned how to bake and make delicacies from a young age. They just opened up a branch here in Karakura city that she runs on her own."

"What!" Tears streamed down Keigo's cheeks as he grabbed onto Mizuiro's jacket. "That's so unfair!" he lamented loudly. "How come you get to have all of the rich and talented girlfriends?"

Caught up in his rant about the unfairness of life and cursing Mizuiro's good fortune, Keigo never saw the schoolbag loaded with text books and dictionaries come down on his head. Chad and Mizuiro did, as they were sitting across from him, but somehow both failed to warn the melodramatic boy in time to save Keigo from receiving a goose egg on his head.

"Shut up, Keigo. You're disturbing the neighborhood."

Ichigo plopped down by his newly concussed friend with an irritated scowl evident on his face. The squeeze was a little snug but Ichigo managed to wedge himself between Keigo and Rukia quite successfully. To avoid having too much contact with Keigo, who was known to accidentally knock people out with his gesticulating arms in the middle of animated conversations, Ichigo scooted closer to Rukia.

"Ne, Mizuiro-san," Rukia said sweetly, politely ignoring how Ichigo was invading her personal space.

"Yes, Kuchiki-san?" Mizuiro just as politely ignored the angry tick developing in Ichigo's temple and focused all of his attention on her. He couldn't quite figure out how it came to be, but for some reason he was very attracted to Rukia despite the fact that he was normally only attracted to older women.

"May I try one of those?" Rukia demurely lowered her head and indicated the tempting sakura mochi with a glance.

Mizuiro sighed, quite taken by Rukia's ladylike manners. He eagerly pressed a perfectly round mochi into her small hand, holding onto her fingers for just a moment longer than necessary and relishing the feel of those slim fingers in his. It was amazing how being in her presence made him feel big and strong. She was just so delicate, it made him want to bundle her up and tuck her somewhere safe and warm. The distinctive sound of a throat clearing made it through the pleasant fog surrounding Mizuiro's consciousness.

He absently advised, "Ichigo, maybe you should go to the nurse for that. You might be catching a cold."

"Mi-zu-i-ro!" Ichigo ground out through clenched teeth.

In the next moment Rukia's hand was snatched out of his and Mizuiro found himself stroking empty air. Abashed, he realized that he had been stroking Rukia's hand without being aware of it. He quickly retrieved his hand before Ichigo had a chance to crush.

"Ah!" Mizuiro bowed hastily, lest she think that he was being too forward. "Please excuse me, Kuchiki-san. I don't know what got into me. I'm not normally so forward."

Meanwhile, Rukia had just taken a bite out of the sakura mochi. The leaf was salty and had a slightly rough texture to it. Not quite sure how this sakura mochi was supposed to taste, as she had nothing to compare it to, Rukia tried to keep her expression neutral upon first tasting the saltiness. Although not definite, she had been under the impression that desserts were supposed to be sweet confections, and not at all salty. Then, as she began to chew into the mochi and tasted the sweet red bean filling, Rukia's eyes lit up.

"Um!" Her smile was bright and happy. "This is good."

"Really?" Mizuiro held up the box of mochi to the group. "Please have some more. Everyone, please help yourselves. I couldn't possibly finish all of this myself."

Rukia turned to Ichigo when all he did was lean back and open up his bento box that Yuzu had prepared while Chad and Keigo dug into Mizuiro's offering. She peered at the contents of Ichigo's box curiously.

Ichigo sighed internally, wanting to but unable to pierce that happiness that Mizuiro had brought to her by offering a simple dessert. "What?" he asked.

Rukia bent closer to Ichigo, eyes intent on his box. Ichigo opened his mouth to say something scathing, anything that would make her back away and take with her the soft scent of cherry blossoms.

A shocked gasp stopped Ichigo from uttering anything. "Ichigo, how, how could you!"

Of course her exclamation brought everyone else's attention on him. Ichigo scowled, knowing that having a peaceful lunch was as distant a dream as having a normal father.

"What?" he asked again.

Rukia sniffled and raised teary, accusatory eyes. "How could you?"

"Ichigo! Apologize to Kuchiki-san, this instant," Keigo demanded.

Ichigo gaped, "Apologize for what?" he yelled, nearly ready to tear his hair out.

This made Keigo pause. "Ah, um…" When no intelligible response made itself known, Keigo settled on a somewhat confused, "for whatever it is that upset her?"

"Kuchiki-san," Chad said reasonably, having connected two and two together after he saw the contents of Ichigo's bento box, "is it perhaps the bunny rabbit onigiri that are upsetting you?"

"Yes," she sniffled. "The poor sweet bunnies. How could you eat them, Ichigo?"

"But," Ichigo looked from one to another of his friends for support. Finding none from his traitorous so-called-friends, he said somewhat defensively, "They're just onigiri! They're not real bunnies."

"But they look like cute little bunnies!" Rukia argued ever so reasonably.

"Damn it, woman," Ichigo yelled, "They're supposed to look like cute little bunnies!"

Horrified by this statement, Rukia looked at Ichigo's box as if it contained something monstrous. She finally said, "But, that's terrible! Why would you do such a thing?"

"Ichigo, maybe you shouldn't eat the bunnies," Mizuiro suggested diplomatically.

"They're not bunnies!" Frustration laced Ichigo's voice.

"I didn't know you could be so heartless, Ichigo." Keigo accused with a jabbing finger.

"Keigo," Ichigo gritted, "get that finger out of my face or I'll break it off, you hear me?"

The finger was immediately retracted along with the hand it was attached to, to be cuddled defensively against Keigo's chest. Ichigo gave up whatever intentions he had of eating the damned bunnies.

"Fine! Damn it, stop crying, Rukia," he ordered. "I won't eat the god damned bunnies, all right?"

Rukia clasped her hands to her chest. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Ichigo proved the verity of his statement by picking out the bunny onigiri with his chopsticks and wrapping them in a napkin. "There, you see? I won't eat them. Are you happy now?"

Rukia smiled, and suddenly it didn't seem all that inconvenient for him to give up part of his meal just to make her happy.

Renji cut a swath through the trees lining the park trail, uncaring as they toppled over and fell upon the graveled path. He had to release some of this pent up anger and frustration before he confronted Rukia. If he didn't then he was afraid that he would wind up doing something violent and drastic when he came face to face with her.

What had that morning been about? Why had she smiled like that for that brat of a boy?

Another tree fell, only this one received a bit more attention than the others so instead of a whole log, it fell in splinters. Small slivers of wood flew in all directions and embedded themselves in nearby bushes and trees. A few hit the stone benches that were strategically placed throughout the park to provide pedestrians with relatively private niches in which to rest. The splinters skidded off of the stone but not before leaving a score mark behind.

The Vice Captain came to a grinding halt by one of the abused stone benches and sheathed his zanpaku-to. The birds that had been nesting above him in a tree flew off, chirping loudly, and almost in what one would call a warning to other creatures to avoid the danger below. Renji ignored all of this as he tried to muddle through the confusing scene he had witnessed earlier in the day.

Camaraderie.

Rukia had found a new circle, and that circle consisted of humans. Frail, ephemeral humans whose lives were but a flicker of candlelight compared to a shinigami's ever burning flame.

Friendship.

That boy, Ichigo, as Renji had come to hatefully learn, had inconceivably insinuated himself into Rukia's life and become someone she valued. He was also the human who had stolen Rukia's dark power and by way of chance become a Soul Reaper. Renji clenched his fists until the tendons and ligaments of his finger joints ached with the tension. That boy was the reason that Rukia was stuck in a gigai body and living with humans. During the week of Renji's silent surveillance he had managed to witness three incidents of that boy and Rukia going out to return a Hollow to the Soul Society. Each of those times Rukia's already precarious life had been endangered.

And each of those times Renji mentally hammered another nail into that boy's coffin.

Renji raised blood red eyes to the sky above, gauging time by the placement of the sun, and figured Rukia would be returning from the Urahara Shoten soon. Determination making his strides even more ground eating than usual, Renji set out for the Kurosaki clinic. Rukia was returning home, to where she belonged, even if he had to drag her kicking and screaming along the way. And if he had to kill that boy in order to complete his mission, then all the better. Rukia had no need for weaklings such as that boy when she had him to protect her until her dark power returned.

End Part III