Fire: Welcome to the TatsuRen oneshot that I decided to write. I was thinking about this pairing and I realized that if there was more than one turning point in their relationship, this would be a major one. It didn't fit in my TatsuRen story so I decided to write it here.
Renji: What! Why would I fall in love with a girl like—
Fire: Love? I didn't say anything about love.
Renji: (blushes slightly at his blunder) I didn't say love!
Tatsuki: (looks at the previous lines) Yes, you did.
Fire: Well, enjoy the oneshot. I also have a multi-chapter TatsuRen fic coming up soon if you want to read more.
Renji: (yelling) No, I didn't!
Tatsuki: (yelling) Yes, you did!
Renji: No, I didn't!
Tatsuki: Yes, you did!
Fire: (ignoring the bickering in the background and turning enthusiastically to the audience) Now, on with the story!
---------------------------
Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Kubo-sensei. For some reason I can't find the Bleach stocks. :( I can't even own a small part of it! Where do they keep it?
---------------------------
Disclaimer: "Bloodletting" the adjective belongs to Fire. If you want to use it, send me a message or an email and I'll send you a full definition before you put it in any of your stories.
---------------------------
Warning: All Japanese terms are used for artistic purposes. If you're confused about what they're saying, go to my user profile for the glossary. Only the most prevalently used Bleach terms are on the user profile. For the complete encyclopedia, please send me your email and I will send it to you. The complete set of Bleach terms is too big to load on the profile page.
---------------------------
Warning: "Bloodletting" is not a real adjective. It is actually a noun, but I decided to make it an adjective for the sake of this story. It means to bleed profusely, as with the words associated with bloodletting: bloodbath, bloodshed, slaughter, etc. I'm sure you get the idea. I make up a lot of verbs, adjectives, etc. Anything that I make up will be in warnings and disclaimers with a short definition so don't worry if you come across them.
---------------------------
Blood Covered Stars
A Fire Project
Oneshot
A battered body meant nothing to him. Somehow, he managed to fight on. Tatsuki could only watch, fear filling her chest as bright sparks flew from gleaming sword and white bone mask to light his blood-covered face against dark shadows. And she had to wonder where he found the strength to continue.
She had given up long ago. The hollows flew endlessly toward them, and her exhausted body wouldn't move even though her spirit was calling out for strength. The strength that Renji had.
He still had the strength to hold Zabimaru even though his body was drenched in his blood, even though his body was torn in more places than one, even though she knew that his body must leaden with every movement, even though she knew that he must have passed his genkai by now. He still blazed in the dark, a white dwarf in a field of suns; Tatsuki had to avert her gaze lest the brightness of that star burn her eyes. She couldn't help but wonder where he got it all. But as she watched the hollows vanish around them, she knew. This was his strength.
He was trying to protect her.
"Oi, Tatsuki!" The redhead was shouting to her over the snarls of the last few hollows, but there was no need. She was lying by his feet and could hear him perfectly. She only hoped that he didn't trip over her and get himself killed. "Daijoubu des-ka?"
"Iie," she said jokingly, a half-grin on her face as she tried to make light of the situation. There were still two or three hollows around them, her whole body ached, and she couldn't move. Did it look like she was okay? She was covered in blood and dirt, and he was about to trip over her any moment now. Somehow, she knew that she shouldn't have come. She was just in the way. If she wasn't here, he wouldn't have to worry about her. This was a world she didn't belong in, just as he didn't belong in her world.
But she really did want to bridge that gap tonight.
"Nani!"
Tatsuki regretted her sarcastic answer almost immediately. She really was fine. She wasn't seriously hurt, so it must have been either the blood or the dark that made it seem as if she was fatally wounded. Concern had filled Renji's movements for one second, enough for a hollow to hit him. There was only the horrific, gruesome splatter of blood against the night sky and the heart-wrenching crunch of body on wood to signify the impact.
"Baka!" Tatsuki tried to push herself up, but her arms were shaking under her weight, and she couldn't do it. 'And he calls himself a fukutaicho?' The hollow—the last hollow—was racing toward them.
And she looked up in time to see the white skull mask opening over her body.
"Renji!" She held up her arms in anticipation of pain, of impact, of anything…but nothing came.
There was only the sound of cracking bone.
As Tatsuki looked up, she was afraid of what she would see. In the moonless night, there was only the horrifying silhouette of a shinigami, a zanpaku-to, and a hollow locked in an immovable stance. And somehow, she found the strength to push herself to her feet before the hollow disintegrated from view. With weighted arms and leaden feet, she dragged herself forwards, her eyes filling with a vision she had hoped never to see.
It was unlike them to give up. It was unlike them to lose their strength. Tatsuki and Renji. Two and the same. They never showed weakness even when they felt it pressing on their chests until they could no longer breathe.
But Renji had allowed himself to fall to his knees, Zabimaru dropping from his hand to the ground in its sealed state once more. "Tatsuki…" The word slipped silently from his mouth as he stared at the ground, his ability to move gone. She had said that she wasn't okay so there was still worry in his chest, especially since he could no longer find the strength to turn and see if she was lying there safe and intact, couldn't lift his head up to see her standing shakily in front of him. "…dai—"
And she punched him in the face. Even though he was hurt, even though he was bleeding and dirt was getting in his wounds, even though her mind was screaming at her to get a doctor, she couldn't help but punch the baka…even though her exhausted arms couldn't quite give the same effect that she had wanted.
"Damare!" How dare he ask her if she was okay when he was bleeding like that? About half a dozen hollows had appeared out of nowhere as soon as she shouted at him, most of them attacking Renji because he was the stronger soul. Even his gigai was dead by now, the temporary soul already devoured. They would need to get a new gigai before anyone noticed that Renji was dead. That one wasn't going to work anymore. "Damare, you baka!"
She couldn't see exactly how many, but there were—one, two, three, four, five...—she didn't want to continue counting how many cuts, slashes, gashes, and other bloodletting wounds on his shinigami body.
But there was only that crazy grin on his face as he looked at her through the thick red that clouded his eyes. "How does it feel…?" His words came slowly with the difficulty of breathing, but Tatsuki was only more agitated by what he had to say. "How does it feel to have someone worry over you?"
And she could see the strange joy that lit his shadowed face as she punched him again. "How does it feel!" But he was still smiling. "What do you mean, how does it feel!"
Tatsuki was angry. That bitter comment was more than she could handle. She was worrying about him! She didn't care about anything except…don't die because of her.
"I was worried," Renji said wearily as he fell forwards, his forehead against Tatsuki's chest, "that I couldn't protect you."
"Baka," Tatsuki said again, softly as she allowed him to rest there. She wasn't going to hit him again, not tonight, not when he was so obviously telling the truth.
He was trying to bridge the gap too.
"Baka, I was worried too!" She buried her face in his bound hair.
There was no way around it. She realized it now. No matter how much she tried, she would never be strong enough. The gap between their worlds was too great for just one person to close. That's why she shouldn't be thinking that way, shouldn't be thinking that she was alone…because while she was thinking about him, he was thinking about her too. And there was no way to change that. It would always be like this. Blood. Dirt. Hollows. Fear. Worries. And he would always be the one showing her the stars.
Owari
---------------------------
Moral of the story:
"We're all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." This quote is from Oscar Wilde. Meaning: man or woman, human or shinigami, there are good and bad things waiting around every corner, but it takes a special strength to look past the fear, the pain, the blood and the dirt that covers us all and see what is truly important. The positive things in life outweigh the negative, and someone will always be there to point it out when you can't see it.
---------------------------
Fire's English tidbits for those who care:
This is the rare English tidbit for one of my oneshots. Usually, oneshots don't have tidbits but I wanted to bring up something interesting. It's another device—but not an artistic device, a grammatical device which means you can not only use this in your stories you can also use this in essays—so get ready for a long explanation. I'm going to talk about the subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood is used to convey thoughts and emotions about what is imagined, wished or possible. The example used above is "lest," although "lest" is a rare subjunctive conjunction since the subjunctive mood relates to verbs and certain forms of those verbs. An example is "would" (from will). The use of these two words is completely different even though they are two forms of the same verb. "Would" usually denotes that something is uncertain, that something might not actually happen. On the other hand, "will" says that something is certain, that it will definitely happen. To put it simply, "would" and "will" speak of what is possible. Typically, I use the subjunctive to facilitate uncertainty and angst. It can also create a slightly sad atmosphere. In other words, I torture my characters with it, but it helps explain their thought processes and how they come to their conclusions. When used correctly, the subjunctive mood should—subjunctive again: what is imagined—help with the natural progression of your story. And remember, as with all devices, use sparingly only to enhance your story as desired. Now, can you guess what the last subjunctive verb is?
Fire's babbling:
Renji: (staring at the story in annoyance) Why do I sound like that?
Tatsuki: (punches Renji in the gut even though it had no effect) The question is: why do I sound like that? I don't regret things like that!
Fire: Uh…you don't regret most things, but Renji has that effect on people.
Renji: Hey!
Tatsuki: (nodding in agreement) Yeah, I see your point.
Renji: The question should be: why do I want to protect her so much!
Tatsuki: Really? (looking at the story) Wow... (admiration, then glares at Renji) Why can't you care about me like that all the time?
Renji: I do!
Tatsuki: Yeah, right.
Renji: But I do!
Tatsuki: Only when it benefits you, right?
Renji: No! I do care about—
Fire: (waving furiously at the audience while ignoring the fight ensuing in the background) Well, see you next story! And review! I want to hear what you think. I can explain everything in this oneshot if you're confused about anything. So if you are confused, tell me. If you hated it, I want to know. If you think it's great, I want to know that too. I want to hear any criticism you have, even if it's horrible or short, or very, very long. I don't care if they're flames. Just send me an honest opinion. Review!
---------------------------