Chapter 1: Unexpected
From the Prologue…Tatsuki was suddenly and roughly jerked out of her thoughts as she heard a crash and then a tinkling sound of glass falling onto her study table. She rapidly sat upright on her bed, ready to attack if it was a person who had caused her window to break.
However, nothing prepared her for whom she saw.
Abarai Renji was crouching on her study table, looking totally unfazed by it.
Renji knew the moment when Tatsuki got over her shock at his sudden intrusion to her room. It was easy. A minute ago, she was staring wide-eyed at him, shock written all over face as clear as day. As for now…
"Abarai! What do you think you're doing! Barging into my room like that!" Tatsuki yelled. She thanked the heavens that her mom was away, visiting a sick relative for the weekend. If her mom had walked in on them, she was in deep shit.
"Shut up, Arisawa-"
"Why are you dressed up like that? Making a fashion statement!" Tatsuki cut Renji off as she noticed his unusual attire – all black traditional robes and a katana slung across his waist. He looked like he had just stepped out of an ancient samurai story.
"I've got better things to do then make a fashion statement!" Renji growled, an eyebrow twitching in annoyance, "Such as saving you!" It was at times like this that he wondered why he was becoming rather fond of the girl. Meh. She was a spitfire almost every second of the day!
Tatsuki stared at the redhead in sheer disbelief, her amazement over his choice of clothing forgotten in an instance. "Saving me? Ha! I could take you on myself and win! You're the one that'll need saving!"
Renji suppressed a frustrated groan as he stood up and leapt off her table, landing neatly on the floor. At this rate, Tatsuki would, undoubtedly, be caught in the intense crossfire when the Allankar finally reached her house. He could already sense the evil presence getting closer by the second. He couldn't waste precious time arguing with her. "Listen, Arisawa. Run as far as you can from your house. Now."
She continued to stare back at him blankly before her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What are you planning to do? And what makes you think you, of all people, can order me around, Abarai?"
This time, Renji let out an audible groan of utter frustration at the black-haired girl and brought a hand to cover his face. "Can't you just listen and trust me this once, Arisawa? This is for your own safety!"
How in the world was he going to make her listen to him without explaining everything to her and making sure that she would believe him? More importantly, if she didn't move soon, the Allankar would arrive very, very soon. If she didn't leave soon, he was going to have to forcibly drag her away… to, to somewhere safe. Wherever that place was, he would decide later. What mattered now was that Tatsuki was not in her neighborhood, much less her house!
However Renji had no more time to deliberate for at that moment, the Allankar arrived, entering through the window too. Tatsuki was once again shocked, but now at the appearance of the person who had entered. He had a hole in the middle of his torso, and was also wearing the traditional robes that she thought nobody would ever wear on a normal day. Vaguely she wondered why people were taking a liking to entering her room via her window tonight and in such strange costumes too.
"What the hell? Another one I'm going have to kick out of my house?" she growled as her shock changed into annoyance.
"Shit!" Renji cursed under his breath, his eyes keeping both Tatsuki and the Allankar in sight. He had drawn out Zabimaru and was holding it in a battle-ready stance, preparing to leap into battle at the slightest provocation.
The Allankar appeared not to have heard Tatsuki or Renji and it gave a malicious smirk, casting blank eyes around the room. "Ah… This is perfect! A shinigami and another to boot. It's the perfect meal!"
"S-Shinigami?" Tatsuki exclaimed in surprise. Death God? What sort of a joke is this?
"This is what I meant by saving you," Renji said pointedly to Tatsuki as he inclined his head towards the humanoid Hollow slightly. "And I'll explain everything to you later!"
As if they were cued by an invisible director, Renji and the Allankar charged at each other simultaneously, zanpakutous in front of them both. There was a resonating clash of metal as they became locked stalwartly in the middle of the room, each glaring hatefully at each other, possibly hoping to kill the other by mere gazes.
"Since this will be our first and last meeting," sneered the Allankar, "I'd like to know the name of the shinigami I'm going to defeat."
Renji snorted, "You're the one who's going down, Allankar. But you'd do better if you remembered the name of the man who killed you." With a short pause, he smirked and then added, "Abarai Renji, Vice Captain of the Sixth Division."
The smirk on the Allankar's face widened at Renji's words. "Ah… that's brilliant! A vice captain! I will truly enjoy myself when I decimate you." There was another metallic clash as it broke the contact between the zanpakutous.
"Oh really? I think you won't find it so brilliant very, very soon."
Tatsuki watched the verbal exchange with a bewildered expression on her face. She didn't understand what Renji and that weird person were talking about. They sounded so much like nonsense… like things she would only hear coming from Orihime due to her imaginative mind. Shinigamis? Vice captain of the Sixth Division? Allankar?Despite her confusion at the current situation, her initial wariness of Renji's sudden appearance had worn away and somehow, inexplicably, she believed that he had really wanted to keep her from harm.
Which was probably in the form of the strange man for Renji hadn't seemed too surprised at his arrival. That man seemed to be after her, for what reasons she didn't know. What Tatsuki understood clearly, however, was that she wasn't going to let anyone fight her battles! That said, she was going to fight the intruder regardless of what Renji had been telling her to do: run.
"Arisawa, what are you doing! Run!" Renji suddenly shouted as he suddenly felt that Tatsuki's spiritual pressure started to flare and turn offensive… like the times when they were involved in physical fights. Which meant only one thing: she was going to join this battle. Damn it!
"You should know by now that I never run from fights, Abarai."
"Damn it, Arisawa! This isn't a simple fight! It can cost you your life! Are you going to take such a risk!" God, he thought she had more sense than that!
By this time, Tatsuki had already leapt at the Allankar, ready to deliver a series of crushing blows. However, her attempt was thwarted as the Allankar sent her flying with a flick of its wrist as it suddenly released a powerful blast reiatsu. Tatsuki was slammed ruthlessly against the wall of her room. All this while, the Allankar was still locked in combat with Renji. Renji knew he shouldn't underestimate the being before him, but he spared a glance at Tatsuki, who had just staggered to her feet, rubbing her left arm that had impacted against the wall first.
"Tsk. Tsk. You should've ran when your friend told you to, girl. You won't even be a warm up for me!" the Allankar mock-lectured. "I'll deal with you after I finish him off, so don't interfere!"
Tatsuki snarled as she clenched her fists tightly, her dark glare trying to stare holes into the face of the Allankar. Nobody would live after belittling her. Although she knew that the intruder was strong and had some sort of strange powers, she would not back down. She would prove that she was no little girl! She took a step forward and positioned herself into a fighting stance.
"Stop it Arisawa! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Renji yelled in disbelief, worry and exasperation. If they both survived this, he was going to have to revise his view on Arisawa Tatsuki – pronto. Contrary to what the others thought, she was not a rational person. That much he was very, very certain now.
"Shut up, Abarai! You can't stop me!"
On the contrary, I think I can… Renji thought, but he made sure not to voice it out. As Tatsuki made another rush for the Allankar, Renji jumped and positioned himself between her trajectory and the Allankar. At the same time, he slashed at the Allankar who blocked. Renji scowled. The Allankar was stronger than most Hollows; he had better make sure Tatsuki never got herself entangled in the midst. He had a feeling that although he had a limit to how much of his power he could use, when the time came, he probably would have to release his bankai.
Tatsuki managed to skid to a stop as she saw that Renji was in her way. Damn him! Did he take her for a weakling? Had he forgotten that the last time they fought, she had almost gotten one up on him! Well, if he had, she was going to make sure he wouldn't continue to forget it! She jumped, flipped over Renji and managed to land a strike on the Allankar as she had taken it by complete surprise.
This time, the Allankar was angry and irritated instead of amused at Tatsuki. With a lightning fast move, it had moved in front of Tatsuki, a hand poised to strike with a deadly orb of spiritual power. "Die!"
Feeling an enormous force pressing onto her, Tatsuki fell to her knees, perspiration running down her face. What's this pressure? I… I can barely breathe… She could see, though unfocusedly, a crackling ball of menacing energy forming on the Allankar's palm and braced herself for the blow, closing her eyes tightly. She felt a breeze swoosh past her and then a small beam of energy hit her and she skidded backwards. Strangely, the blow didn't feel too harsh and she opened her eyes to see what had happened.
Renji had stepped in and used his katana to deflect the orb of energy.
Tatsuki realized with a start that Renji had a menacing, deadly glare directed at the Allankar. She had never seen him so angry before. He looked… murderous. She swallowed slightly. Despite the number of times he had beaten her in a fight, she had never been the least bit afraid of him. Now, sitting in the shadow of his towering form, Tatsuki realized that Renji had the means to kill if he wanted to… and now it truly seemed like he was going to do so to the strange, half-masked Allankar – whatever that was – that had a somewhat displeased look.
He was fuming inside as well as over his head with worry for her. Renji had had it with Tatsuki. Why couldn't she listen to him? Damn it! If he was going to have to resort to using kidou to stop her from getting involved in this fight, he jolly well would with no regrets! This girl was driving him crazy with her stubbornness.
Wait a minute.
Come to think of it, it was a good idea…
While Renji knew he was no expert in the Demon Arts since he preferred hand-to-hand combat (and he used to be in the Eleventh Division too), he knew that even the most basic binding spell would easily hold Tatsuki in place. She was just a human and the amount of spiritual power she had paled a lot in comparison to Ichigo. Which meant it would prevent her from getting injured… or at least lessen the chances than when she leapt headfirst into the fight. He was going to make sure that the Allankar never got to hurt her. It would have to kill him before it could get near Tatsuki. Renji knew that his promise to himself was somewhat broken considering Tatsuki's irritatingly obstinate nature, but it didn't hurt to make sure that the promise did not completely disintegrate.
"Arisawa, I don't care if you'll kill me for this later. It's for your own safety…" Renji started, although his eyes had not left the Allankar. He stretched out one of his hands towards Tatsuki. "Way of Binding, Number 1. First Restraint – Obstruction!"
Tatsuki had no time to fully comprehend what was happening when she suddenly felt her arms snap to her back, an invisible force holding them in place. She tried to get up from her kneeling position and found that her legs too were almost immobilized and it was tiring to try and get up. Had Renji just cast a spell of on her? Was she really awake or had she fallen asleep amidst her musings?
"Now, we can get down to business," Renji muttered, inwardly relieved that Tatsuki hadn't tried breaking the spell by force, as it would've caused her destruction and that she didn't start cursing him into oblivion. She seemed to be in a daze. Probably wondering if she's in reality or not. There's going to be a lot to explain later on…
"Howl, Zabimaru!" As he said the release command, Renji skimmed his hand over the surface of his zanpakutou. Zabimaru glowed red and its form shifted to the fang-like blades.
The Allankar eyed the transformed zanpakutou, the annoying smirk still on its face. Apparently, the shikai form of Zabimaru didn't faze it the least bit. Renji decided that it was just too overconfident of its newfound abilities. When he wanted to protect something, or someone, he went all out to do so. He had almost lost Rukia back then, this time he wasn't going to lose another person who was beginning to worm her way into his heart.
The relatively small room was soon filled with noises of metallic clashes, ripping of cloth and the sickening sound of sharp metal piercing through vulnerable flesh. The high amount of spiritual pressure released was starting to crack the floor tiles and the walls. Even the lamps in the room were beginning to flicker unsteadily in the presence of such power. Tatsuki's room looked like a place where a tornado had just raged through before it had been given time to recover from a bloody war.
Twenty minutes later…
"Well, looks like you aren't so weak after all," the Allankar said with a smirk.
Both parties were almost equal in terms of the seriousness of injuries sustained. Both had numerous slashes and wounds on their bodies. Part of their clothing had also torn off due to the sword attacks. All in all, both parties seemed to have just stepped out of a war zone. However, this war had not ended and didn't seem to be ending very soon too. Neither party was on the brink of death… and this fight would only end with at least a death.
"Heh. Then you aren't that strong as you claimed."
The Allankar merely smiled slyly and then suddenly it was behind Renji. Renji whirled around to block the strike with a snarl. As the blade was deflected, the Allankar jumped up and righted itself, floating in midair. Then it hurtled downwards and positioned the tip of its zanpakutou towards… Tatsuki. Its previous move was just a distraction. This human girl seemed to hold some importance to the shinigami it was fighting. Then by all means, it should exploit this weakness.
"Shit!" Renji cursed as he realized his mistake. He dashed towards Tatsuki, who had a terrified expression on her face. She was still bound by the Demon Arts, which Renji quickly released the hold. Damn. He wasn't going to make it in time… Dodge! Renji mentally urged.
There was a loud explosion a moment later and Renji used Zabimaru to shield his face. The impact was from the hit was strong. Had anyone been caught in it… he'd be dead. Renji waited anxiously for the smoke and dust to clear. There was a hole in the wall, other than that, the Allankar and Tatsuki seemed to be gone. His throat went very dry.
Unexpectedly, he heard a cough towards his right side and turned to take a look. To his greatest relief, it was Tatsuki. Other than the dust on her, she looked fine. Without thinking twice, Renji went over to her side to check on her. From up close, Tatsuki had just some minor bruises and cuts, which Renji guessed was from the explosion just now. He was glad that she had enough sense to dodge when he released the binding spell.
"Oi. Are you okay, Ta- Arisawa?" he asked, trying to sound like he wasn't very worried. He mentally cursed his near slip of tongue.
Tatsuki looked up at the sound of Renji's voice being so close to her. She was about to answer him when she saw a flash of movement behind the redhead. Her eyes widened in fear as she realized what it meant. "Look out! Behind-"
SLASH!
Tatsuki watched in horror as Renji's pupils dilated and he lurched forwards onto her. Following that, there was a sickening sound of a large slash wound from his right shoulder to his mid-torso opening and blood splattering out, staining its immediate surroundings. She tentatively touched his robes and her hand came away wet with fresh blood.
"Ren- Abarai! Are you okay? Answer me!" She shook him as gently as she could, hoping to force a reaction out of the severely injured redhead. Damn it! If he died, she'd have a guilty conscience on her hands… that was if she didn't die in time to feel the guilt.
There was a small cough from Renji that shook his body a little. Tatsuki looked at his face and saw a hint of a smirk. Then he spoke, "Don't w-worry about me. I won't die so easily…"
Had the situation not been so serious, Tatsuki would've smacked Renji for his cockiness. Instead she settled for just glaring at him… but she knew that through her glare, it conveyed her concern and worry for the redhead.
Slowly, Renji got to his feet, using Zabimaru to support himself slightly. He willed himself not to sway. Despite his words to Tatsuki, he knew that he had to end this fight quickly if they both were to have any chance of leaving alive. Although the Soul Society law forbade it, Renji decided that this was the time to throw away the rules. He was going to release his bankai. Any other consequences that came with it later, he was going to ignore them for now. He faced the Allankar, determined to wipe that smirk of its face.
With his back towards her, Renji said solemnly, "Arisawa, sorry about your house."
Tatsuki was somewhat confused. So far it was only her room that was thrashed… However she had no time to question further.
"BANKAI!"
There was a massive release of spiritual pressure. The whole house shook before the world went white…
I must say I'm pleasantly surprised that so many people reviewed. Plus, they all loved it! RenjixTatsuki is pretty new. Glad that all the responses were all positive. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you really made my day! Hope you'll also enjoy this chapter!
carzla