If you haven't caught on by now, this fic is going to be insanely long.
Year: 1994
Rukia's face was pinched as she crossed the street, her tiny hand clutched tightly in her brother's bony grip. She must have begged for weeks and weeks, but only a few days ago did he agree to pay for Karate class. Today was her first day, and walking up to the building, she felt nervous but determined. She was going to go in there, she was going to have a good time, and she was not going to be the weird ghost-girl. She was just going to blend in…hopefully. Rukia gulped. She wondered it if was too late to go back home.
Yeah, it was probably to late, she thought. They were already standing in front of the dojo's doors, after all. She entered, staying just a half step behind Byakuya. He immediately started talking to the man behind the desk to get her signed in, but she wasn't really paying attention. She was pulling at her Gi self-consciously as she peered over the partition to see who was already there. Byakuya had wanted them to be on time, which for him meant at least fifteen minutes early, so there weren't too many other kids there, yet. She wasn't sure if that made her feel relieved or just worse.
Byakuya turned to her, having just given the paper work to the desk man, saying, "I'll be here at six o'clock to pick you up."
"Okay…" she mumbled, before straightening up. Manners, she had to remember her manners. "I mean, yes, Brother," she answered. He nodded his head slightly, so slightly that Rukia almost had to squint to see it. The man behind the desk moved then, unlocking the small door.
"The practice area's over here," he said, jerking his head. Rukia nodded, walking through quietly. Over her shoulder, she saw Byakuya leave through the glass doors. She gave him a small wave that he didn't see, watching as he disappeared.
Now, here she was, standing on a matt, shifting from foot to foot. There were four other kids there then. Five, if she included the one that just walked in with her mom. Two were already paired off and talking to each other quietly, but the others seemed just as nervous as she was, flitting around the room or staring at the ground. She decided to follow their example and started reading the plates on whatever trophies she found in the room. (Besides, what would she even say? She wished she were better at this kind of thing.) There were actually a lot of them, so this lasted her quite a while.
Every so often, her attention would be grabbed by someone coming through the door, but usually only for a moment, until someone interesting caught her eye, a few minutes before the class was supposed to start.
It was a boy, probably her age, and he had…red hair? She knew some westerners had red hair, but this, she's pretty sure she'd only seen this shade of hair in the cartoons she watched, or on the heads of the big kids that her brother always told her to stay away from. Seeing a kid her age have hair like this was pretty weird, but she tried not to think too much of it, tried to wait and see if the parent he came with would have hair that's the same color. No one came after him, though. He was alone.
Woah, cool. Byakuya never let her go anywhere alone.
The strange boy checked himself in, going up on his tiptoes to see over the desk properly before being led into the practice area with the others, just like Rukia was. All the while, she was watching, while trying to not make it too obvious she was spying on him. She saw him bite at his fingernails, glancing over the area right before his eyes stopped at Rukia. Their eyes met, and she jerked her head away. He did catch her staring! Hopefully, he wouldn't think much of it.
While her head was turned, the boy walked right up to her, fists balled, and looking annoyed. Of course, she wouldn't be that lucky.
"What are you staring at?" he barked out. Even though they were the same height, Rukia felt herself shrink under his gaze as she stuttered for an answer.
"N-nothing," she said. His eyes narrowed. That wasn't good enough. So, with a gulp she continued, "I just thought it was neat that you came in alone…"
His fists unclenched, and his shoulders slumped slightly. He let out a confused, "Huh?" Rukia felt relieved, too.
"My brother can be kinda strict," she explained more confidently. "I just think it's cool." Then, after a moment, she added for good measure, "Your hair's cool, too."
"Oh." He took a half step back. His aggressiveness shrunk, and with it, Rukia's confidence grew. She could see it, her chance to not be alone, her chance to have the good time she hoped she would. She decided to take it.
"My name's Rukia," she said. The boy started fidgeting around, looking just as shy as she felt a moment ago.
"I'm Renji," he eventually said. Then, he looked up, staring at her face. "You really thought it was cool that I walked myself here?" he asked.
She nodded, "Uh-huh. Do you always go places by yourself?"
"Sometimes," he said with a shrug. "My mom doesn't always have time to bring me places."
"That makes sense." Byakuya could be pretty busy, too. Adults were just like that, sometimes.
This opened the floodgates for Rukia. She led the conversation after that, asking any questions that came to her mind, and he answered each one a little easier than the last. She asked things like when he'd walk himself (to school, usually, he said), where he got his red hair from (his mom), and why he came to the dojo.
"I asked for lessons for my birthday," he explained. "My mom knows the teacher, so it was pretty easy."
"Your mom knows the teacher?" Rukia asked, leaning forward. "What's he like?" Renji shuddered a bit before answering, as if recalling a bad memory.
"He's…scary," he simply said. Rukia frowned at that. That didn't sound too good.
Seconds later, the man walked in, and Rukia didn't think he looked too bad. He was shorter than most adults and had hair so short he was almost bald. Holding a clipboard, he started calling role.
"Ai Tanaka!" he called out.
"Here," a quiet voice said. A girl in the back raised her hand meekly.
"I can't hear you," he said. "Try again!"
"Here!" she yelled, voice trembling a bit. With a nod, he moved on.
He called off more names after that, always insisting that the kid answer louder a second time, and as he started going down the names, Rukia started feeling nervous.
He eventually said, "Rukia Orikasa!" She blinked for a moment. It took her a second to realize he even called her name.
"H-here!" she stuttered out after a moment.
"Try again!" he insisted.
"Here!" she yelled, cheeks pink. She let out a sigh when he moved on to the next name.
"Renji Abarai!"
"Here, sensei!"
He nodded and moved on to the next name. Yet another impressive feat from Renji.
The teacher finished off the list, clearing his throat loudly before saying, "You will call me Hōjō-Sensei, is that clear?"
A, "Yes!" rang out from all ten kids present.
"Very good," he said with a nod. "For your first day, I will teach you some Kata. These are training exercises and are a good place to start." He glanced around the room briefly, but wasted no time in saying, "Let's begin."
He started off by showing them a simple stance, which was really just standing, but he was showing them the right way to stand? Rukia didn't get it, but she went along with it, anyway. He then started walking around the group, shifting around anyone who was a bit off, quietly explaining his corrections and making them until they were one hundred percent perfect. His presence felt almost oppressive and made everyone he passed go stiff with nerves. Still, in mere minutes, he had everyone in perfect form.
As they all moved from Kata to Kata, Rukia started noticing it wasn't just the "Here!" that Renji was left alone on. Hōjō-Sensei would barely correct him on any of his stances. He'd give a nod, maybe change sometimes slightly, and move on in seconds. Of course, Rukia couldn't have this.
She started watching Renji a little closer, trying to see if she could copy him better. She tightened up her form and counted the seconds in her head that it took for her position to be revised, and she felt pride bubble up in her chest as the number got lower and lower each time. She felt excitement when she noticed Renji trying harder and harder in retaliation.
By the end of her first lesson, she felt, tired, relieved, and happy. When some of the guardians started filing in, she was wishing that it lasted for more than just one hour.
They were all set loose at exactly six o'clock, Hōjō-Sensei telling them to practice at home for next week. Rukia made a silent promise to do just that, and then out of the corner of her eye, Rukia spotted Byakuya. She reached for Renji's hand and grabbed it.
"Come on," she said, dragging him along. He didn't say anything, but he didn't protest either as she dragged him to her patiently waiting guardian.
An eyebrow raised, Byakuya asked, "How did your day go?" Rukia quickly schooled herself to give a "proper" response.
"It was fun!" she said, just stopping herself from jumping with excitement. "Hōjō-Sensei taught us Kata and some stances, and it was really neat." Byakuya nodded but seemed a little busy looking at the boy she had dragged with her.
"Would you like to introduce me to your friend?" he prompted.
"Oh yeah," she had forgotten herself for a minute there. "Uhm…"
"My name is Renji Abarai, sir," he answered for her.
"It's nice to meet you," Byakuya said with a nod. "Are your parents around here?"
"Err," Renji rubbed the back of his neck. "My mom is probably just coming off work now…sir." He added the last word as a sort of afterthought. Byakuya blinked.
"And she's not here to pick you up?"
"No," he said sheepishly.
Byakuya didn't speak for a moment. He pursed his lips, considering, and taking his time before asking, "Would it be alright if Rukia and I took you to your home?"
Renji seemed unsure, at first. He looked to Rukia for some kind of support or confirmation. She just nodded excitedly at his side.
"It'd be fine," he finally said. After that, Byakuya got up, and they all left together, the man asking Renji where his house was. It turned out to only be a couple of blocks away, but they took their time getting there, walking steadily, Byakuya holding Rukia's hand, and Rukia holding Renji's. The two were then in a heated debate, trying to figure out who did better on their first day of "training." Rukia didn't really notice the neighborhood they were in, one that was a little broken down, a little dirty, and much different from the prim and proper nature of her own.
The home they came to was a small apartment on the first floor, and in front of the door was a woman fiddling with her keys that couldn't have been anyone but Renji's mother. The hair gave it away.
"Mom!" he called before breaking away and running up to her. The woman's face broke out into a large grin as she hefted him up into a hug.
"A little heavy there, champ!" she teased, letting him down. "How'd your first day go."
"It was a ton of fun!"
"That's nice to hear," she said, smoothing out his hair. Then, she turned to the Orikasas, probably noting Rukia and her Gi. "I'm guessing you walked my son home," she said with a warm smile.
"Yes, I did," Byakuya answered.
"Well, thank you for that. I would be there to pick him up myself, but my shift from work ends at six, too. You know how it is."
"It's fine," Byakuya insisted. "It's really no problem at all." The woman smiled again, looking exhausted, but happy. Then, she looked closer at Byakuya's face, recognition immediately on hers.
"You were the lawyer!" she cried out.
"Excuse me?" He looked confused.
Renji's mom brought her hands together, and said, "A few years back when those thieves broke into our apartment. You were the lawyer that settled the insurance claim. I remember you, now, you and that woman you were with."
Byakuya blinked, before saying, "I think I remember, yes. You were one of my first clients."
The woman then finally unlocked the door.
"Would you like to come in?" she asked. "Have some tea, maybe? The kids can play outside."
"That would be nice, thank you."
A lot of the conversation went over Rukia's head, and honestly, she wasn't paying much attention. She heard the part about them playing outside, and that was all that really mattered. Renji was urging her forward.
"Come on, Rukia. I got the perfect game!" he said, and he started leading her around to the back of the building, the two adults disappearing behind apartment doors.
The two were going pretty far, actually. They were going beyond the block, and away from the houses and toward these trees. They were going far enough that she knew Byakuya wouldn't appreciate it.
"Should we be going out this far?" she asked quietly.
"Huh?" Renji paused, breaking from his fast pace. He stopped as if he had never even considered it before. "Yeah, sure," he finally said. "I go out here all the time with the guys that live down the street." After that, he continued through back ways and short cuts until they reached a tall hedge. Behind it was the edge of the trees.
"To do what?" she asked. Renji just grinned, rolling up his sleeves and parting the branches of the hedge just enough for Rukia to crawl through. She wasn't sure if she wanted to do it or not, but she was sure that she didn't want to look like a wuss. She got down on all fours and started crawling through, trying to avoid scratching branches and brushing leaves out of her face. In seconds she was on the other side.
The area was grassy and well kept, tall trees all around them. In the distance she could see some headstones, never a good sign.
"What are we doing at the cemetery?" she asked nervously. She knew she hadn't said anything about spirits or dead people since she met Renji. She had wanted to avoid it, so she could keep this friend for just a little longer.
"Me and my friends like to go ghost hunting, here," he said with a grin. Well, wasn't that perfect? "It's spookier at night, but we got in trouble last time we were here late."
"So," she started slowly, "you come here in the middle of the night with your friends to look for ghosts?" This is where it happened, wasn't it? This was where she found out that one of his friends knew about her, and that they planned this whole thing. They were going to jump out any moment to make fun of the "ghost-girl", and they would have done all this just to see her cry.
Instead, Renji said, "Yeah! It's a lot of fun, and I've always wanted to find a real ghost!"
"You believe in ghosts?" she asked carefully.
"Yup," he said, and Rukia saw a spark of excitement in his eyes. She found that she believed him, and she wasn't sure what to do with that. "Let's start over there," he continued, pointing toward the headstone closest to them.
The two wandered the cemetery after that as the sun sunk lower and lower into the sky. The cemetery itself was huge, the biggest one in town, and there were plenty of places to explore, a few of which Rukia didn't even know about until Renji pointed them out. There were entire sections of the place with headstones that had birthdates that went back centuries, hidden in groves of trees and flower, and each time they would reach one of these, Renji would inspect the area carefully, squinting his eyes and trying to find something that couldn't be seen. Well, it couldn't be seen by most people.
All the while, Rukia was keeping her own eyes open. The place was neat, but there was always a chance they could run into a real ghost, and that could be bad news. Still, looking around, she was pretty sure there weren't any, or at least she was sure for a while.
They reached the area furthest from the main gate, furthest from where any visiting families may be. This is where she felt something other than the cool spring air. She felt cold, bone chillingly, teeth chattering-ly cold. It was like icy claws were raking through her skin, and the air around them suddenly turned heavy.
There was definitely something here, and it probably wasn't friendly.
"Did you see something, Rukia?" Renji asked hopefully.
"No!" she rushed out. She sucked in a breath before saying, "Maybe we should just go." Renji squinted at her for a moment before his eyes widened.
"You can see something, can't you?"
"No, I can't!" she insisted.
"Yeah, you can," Renji insisted back, though he was more excited than anything else. "What is it? What do you see?"
Rukia stepped back. It was kind of unbelievable, but Renji didn't look like he was judging her.
"I…" she trailed off and looked back to where the feeling was coming from. It was a small shack, a little broken down, but it looked functional. There was just one problem, though. The groundskeeper wasn't alive, anymore. He was instead standing in the doorway, a chain jutting from his chest and restraining him to the shed, anchoring him. He looked like he was in pain, and… "It's angry," she finally said in a small voice. Renji looked like he had stumbled upon gold.
"So, you can see it!" Rukia's head jerked toward him.
"Can you?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"No," he said, shaking his head, eyes on the shack, "but something's definitely there." He straightened his back, clenched his fists, and in an attempt at bravery that Rukia just knew would go horribly wrong, he stepped forward. "I'm gonna try to get closer to it."
Rukia's feet felt rooted to the ground as she watched him march forward, and without even thinking about it, she reached forward, and grabbed his arm, holding as tight as she could. Just then, the groundskeeper looked right at them.
"We're leaving!" she yelled, and her legs started working again. She ran as fast as she could, dragging Renji behind her. She could hear the groundskeeper growling as he struggled against his heavy chains towards them. She ran, pumping her legs faster, and didn't slow, even when she heard his chains snap taught.
The two ran away going almost to the other end of the cemetery, screaming all the way. They stopped only when they got tired, panting as they slowed. Renji caught his breath first.
"What was that all about?!" he yelled.
Shoving him with one hand she yelled back, "It was angry, and don't steal my question! What are you doing just walking up to a ghost like that?"
Renji "harrumphed", "I just wanted to get a little closer."
"You could have gotten us both killed!"
"Yeah, well at least I'm not hiding how I can see ghosts from the friend I'm on a ghost hunt with," he said, crossing his arms.
"What was I supposed to say?" she asked, throwing her hands up. "'Hi, I'm Rukia Orikasa, and I see dead people!'"
Renji held her gaze angrily for a moment before breaking it. He finally said, "That's pretty cool, actually."
About half an hour ago, Rukia would have been over the moon to hear someone say that to her. Now, she just felt annoyed.
"Maybe we should go home." Renji said, looking up at the sky.
"Probably. It's getting dark."
Renji then led the slow going way back to where they began. Neither really looked at each other. Rukia kept her eyes down on the tombstones while Renji aimlessly kicked a pebble across the ground.
"I had a lot of fun," he said.
"Huh?" Rukia said dumbly. She wasn't expecting that. What she was expecting was him saying "let's never do that again." Heck, she was hoping for a "let's never do that again."
He continued, "I mean, I've never gotten that close to a real ghost before."
"Oh," she said, nodding. Then she asked something that had been on her mind ever since they started running. "Why do you believe me about that, anyway?"
Renji stared at her accusingly, asking, "Are you lying about it?"
"No!" she answered, offended.
"Then I believe you." Rukia looked down after that. The only other person who just believed her like that was Byakuya. "Anyway, my mom talks about weird stuff like this all the time, and I believe her."
That made sense, she guessed. Still, "…That was kind of fun."
The two kids faced the hedge they started at, their formerly white Gi browned and scuffed up. Rukia bet this would be fun to explain to her brother. Renji went through the branches first, leaving Rukia one last moment to look back at the cemetery. She saw the headstone that first cued her in to where they even were back when Renji dragged her in. (Boy, that felt like ages ago.) This time, however, she noticed the name on it, a name odd enough that she knew she had to get a closer look.
Hisana Orikasa
1968-1990
Beloved
Rukia stared at it for a moment, thinking that maybe she was misreading it. Did Byakuya have relatives? If he did, he sure never brought them up. There was Auntie, but she didn't really count, did she? Who was Hisana?
"Rukia, are you coming?" Renji called from the other side. She tore her eyes from the tombstone.
"I'm coming!" she called back before she crawled to the other side of the hedge, adding a few new scratches to her Gi. Once she reached the other side, she noticed Renji was frowning.
"No one's going to believe me if I tell them what happened, will they?" They weren't. She knew this from experience.
"Probably not," she said.
Then, he smirked, "It was really cool, though. What did it look like?"
She frowned first, considering, before she started her explanation. She tried not to leave anything out, going into as much detail as possible. She talked about the weird pressure, the chains, and even mentioned how old the guy looked. Renji hung onto every word.
They came back to both of their guardians waiting outside. The sun was already set by then.
"You guys were out for a while," Renji's mom commented. Then she noticed what state they were in. "What did you do to get so filthy?" she asked exasperatedly, motioning her son forward.
The two friends looked at each other for a moment.
"Nothing!" they said in unison. Byakuya and Miné shared their own look.
Rukia's brother just sighed though, guiding Rukia to his side, and looking her over. She just knew she was in trouble, now.
"Thank you for the tea, Miss Abarai," Byakuya finally said, "but now, it's time we went home."
"Feel free to stop by any time," she said, while she was looking over her own son. "I need to get you inside and in a bath," she muttered to him. "Why do you have leaves in your hair?" Renji dodged her hand when she tried to futz with his hair. Rukia and Byakuya were already walking away.
"See you next week, Rukia," Renji he called to her. Rukia turned back to him. She waved.
"See you!" She was quietly pulled away.
The walk wasn't long, but it was just long enough for Rukia to have time to think, and her mind immediately went to the tombstone. Byakuya had to know about it, he just had to, and she knew she had a ton of questions about it. She looked up to him, mouth already open to ask one of them, but something made her stop.
He was deep in thought, that much was obvious. His lips were pursed, and his brow was furrowed. He walked briskly and stiffly ahead, not saying a word. If there was something she had learned in the three years she'd been with him, it was that interrupting him while he was thinking was a bad idea. He wouldn't get angry, but he definitely wasn't happy, and probably wouldn't be for the rest of the day, or at least until he finished his thinking.
Rukia decided to keep her question to herself. She gripped Byakuya's hand a little harder.
That night, she dreamed of chasing ghosts and punching bad guys, all with her new friend. She didn't think about tombstones or dead family members, and she wouldn't for a very long time.
There's my little "interlude" chapter, and as I said last week, these will be a regular thing. Tell me if you love it, tell me if you hate it, and keep in mind that favorites, follows, and reviews give me life.
