The first thing Abarai Renji will tell you about Arisawa Tatsuki is that she takes his breath away. Literally. The hit came from nowhere; he barely had time to voice his shock before his ass hit the ground. And then there she was, hovering over him, hands on her hips, a wide grin on her face. She's made progress, that's clear. But Yoruichi said she would. "She already is very skilled with her hands," she winked at Renji. "As a fighter anyway. But I imagine the curiosity you have about her hands involves something else."

It's only now that Renji stops to wonder if he'd been that obvious from the beginning. He takes the hand Tatsuki offers him, lets her pull him to his feet. He stumbles close to her intentionally. He can smell the sweat and deodorant on her and wonders why the aroma so very sweet to him. Then she shoves him away. "Let's go again," she says.

"No, Arisawa-san, it's hot down here. Let's rest a bit."

She frowns just a little, then nods. He loves how she does that. He loves the neck that head nods on. He loves the eyes in that head. He loves. . .

He shakes his head, looks at her. She's staring at him funny. "What?" he says.

"Nothing," she scowls, an edge coming into her voice.

He smiles at her. He knows her impatience, knows the urgency of her desire. She has a goal to achieve. And he knows better than anyone else what it is to have ambition lick at your feet, hunger gnaw at you soul. It's that fire that draws him to her, he knows.
It's also how he felt her coming before even Rukia did, that day. They had not been at that place called school in days. Ichigo had been busy with the vizards, Rukia and Inoue passing back and forth between Soul Society, and he had been training with Sado. But on that terrible day they lost Inoue, they all agreed to remain together, no matter what. For Inoue's sake.

And then Tatsuki came looking for her. She arrived on the doorstep of the Urahara shouten with fire in hr eyes and a clear impatience with their fumbling excuses. The reiatsu she gave off was faint, but hot like a sword that had sat in a fire for days. Ichigo turned red. He could not lie. Sado and Rukia would not, and remained silent. Renji was the one who told her. And he told her the truth, preparing himself for womanly tears or at least uncontrolled panic.

Instead, she crossed her arms. "So how do we get her back?" And then came the blazing strength of he reiatsu, rising with her ire, telling them all she would not be put off. It was so strong that it attracted the shady store owner and his feline compatriot. Yoruichi looked her up and down and declared her "trainable." That was how it began, her weeks of training. Renji had first decided to keep a distance. The human girl made him feel weird and off-balance. But little by little, curiosity claimed him, and he went first to watch, then to train with her. She is strong, not unlike Rukia, but utterly unlike Rukia.

She is probably the least feminine creature he has ever met and that's saying something, knowing Yoruichi. Her single-minded drive is amazing to him. He likes her easy style and agile form.

Before he could say he liked everything about her, he knew he loved her. Which was difficult for him.

He had no idea how to approach her.

And he would not ask for help. Really, now, what would anyone say? Ichigo would laugh, Rukia would snicker, and Sado would silently nod. Sado was not much of a talker.

So Renji settled for remaining close. For now, it is enough. In class, they referred to it as "courtly love." Perhaps later, he'll gather the nerve to make it into something else.

Sitting next to her now, he knows she is strong and getting stronger. He worries a little that it still won't be enough, and there is no question of keeping her from battle when it comes. It won't be possible. But that does not matter right now.

Where Renji loves, he protects.

A/N: I know a lot of people don't really consider this pairing crack anymore. We all want to see Renji knocked on his ass by Tatuski. Because we all know she can do it. Not just that, but damn, won't the arguing alone just be awesome?