AN: I'm updating this again. Thanks to all the reviewers who stuck by me on the last chapter. I know there isn't much RenjiTatsuki fans out there. Sorry! But it works with my story…hehe. Not much fluff in this chapter, it's a bit more of a serious type thing. Sorry again! But, it will come in time, I promise.

Note that this chapter takes place four weeks after the last chapter, but don't worry, I promise to fill in all the gaps with the later chapters. Just keeps you guys in suspense, that's all.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

- - -

A Summer Job: Search and Assimilate (Part II), Rehabilitation (Part V)

- - -

"Any luck?" Yumichika looked at himself in the mirror, as he tried to fix an eyelash that was out of place.

"No. No signal from Soul Society," Ikkaku growled. The two shinigami had been searching for Renji for weeks now, but his spiritual power was so weak that they couldn't track him down - it was more of a dim aura that they felt, faint, but permeating.

"It's probably broken. It's an ugly thing anyway –"

"Shut up. Though it probably only is the stupid device. Longer lasting my ass. Mayuri makes shit," Ikkaku added as an afterthought.

Yumichika suddenly turned from the mirror, his face serious. "And we still haven't found Renji."

"Yeah. But he's somewhere around here. I can sense him," he said, pacing the floor of Keigo's home. Thank goodness that sister of his wasn't home yet, or else he wouldn't get this quality thinking time.

"We'll go looking tomorrow. If we can't find him then…" Yumichika didn't finish his sentence. They knew he was alive, it was just that, they had a bad feeling about the broken link between Soul Society and earth. Even though Yumichika didn't like the weaselly 12th division captain as much as his friend, they both knew that Mayuri wasn't the 12th division captain for nothing. He did know his technology – and the device wouldn't just break down, just like that. He turned back to the mirror. The device looked okay, and it had been 'broken' a little longer than three weeks.

What was even more disturbing than the broken device, was that neither him or Ikkaku held in possession with them a hell butterfly, effectively cutting off their passage back to Soul Society. Normally, it wouldn't have been a problem, but there had been no hollows appearing lately, nor were their any ghosts. It was as almost as if something was blocking them...

"There's something big happening in the city tomorrow night. Maybe he'll be there," Keigo interrupted the shinigami's thoughts.

The two shinigami looked at him. They had been looking for Renji for the better part of the past month, but there was still no sign of him. They had forced Keigo and Mizuro to come with them on most days, as they knew the area. But Renji never seemed to be out and about. They had even gone and asked Urahara - well, they would have, if it wasn't for the extremely large sign saying he was away on a holiday.

"Something big?" Ikkaku asked. He saw caught Yumichika's eye in the mirror. For once his friend wasn't looking at himself. But that was because the matters at hand…

"Yeah! It's Karakura's annual festival. Everyone goes," Keigo replied, placing special emphasis on 'everyone'.

"Yes, there are a lot of older women in the crowds," added Mizuro.

Ikkaku ignored the two for a moment. The way things seemed to be falling into place – no hollows appearing, no arrancar appearing, no Soul Society, a big gathering in Karakura…it was disturbing, to say the least. "We're going."

- - -

Tatsuki's house was actually quite nice, Renji decided. He had been staying at her house for the better part of four weeks, and he had come to that conclusion. Nice. A normal person would have probably labelled it something like, 'extravagant', or 'massive', but Renji was already used to mansions such as these. He had to be, when he was working under one of the richest people in Soul Society.

He stopped walking along the long hallways, and glanced at the two pathways that presented itself in a T-section. One would take him to Tatsuki's room, and the other would take him to his favourite part of the house (aside from the kitchen), the balcony. Over the past few weeks, he had taken to sitting on her balcony late at night and just looking at the stars. He had always wondered where Soul Society actually was. Was he looking at the right place, when he looked up into the sky?

He liked to sit there, toy with his Soul Society transmitter that had got broken during the fight with the arrancar. Urahara had gone on one of his 'holidays', and Renji couldn't get the damn thing fixed. He couldn't help but wonder as to what Soul Society was doing – it was standard protocol to send someone to check out a shinigami missing in action.

Unless they thought he was already dead, or something. But that would be stupid, he mused. His spirit power was getting slightly better – good enough so that they could at least sense it – they being whoever was sent to come to the real world and find him.

Another reason why he liked to sit there, was because the solitude reminded him of Rukia. And that day, when he confessed to her. He had known, of course, that she had feelings towards the orange haired teenager, but his mind refused to accept it. What the hell did she see in him anyway? His thoughts usually started off happily, just like his days in Soul Society did, but then they ended up gloomy, and dark. Like when he had let her go into the Kuchiki clan. That had been the worst mistake of his life. Many a night he spent on the balcony, telling himself that he would never let someone so close to him slip away again.

The last reason why he liked to sit on the balcony was because it was a taste of the outside. He had hardly stepped outside of the house in the past few weeks, and he was getting antsy. Sure, he had made some necessary trips here and there, but nothing exciting. There wasn't even any normal hollows around. Something about that just felt so…wrong, he thought.

But it wasn't so bad staying indoors either, as the accommodation was acceptable, not to mention free, and Tatsuki proved a reasonable fighter. Even if, he thought to himself, even if she still couldn't control her spirit power. Sure, it was a start that she could actually see shinigami's and hollows, but it wasn't enough. She needed to combat them, but even with her above average Karate skills, she would go down at one blow of a normal sized hollow.

He had been training her for the past few weeks, and she had gotten stronger and faster. In a way, she was like him – she had a hunger for training. But there was just one barrier she couldn't seem to overcome. She, or more correctly, her mind, refused to become emotional when she fought. The laws of martial arts were ingrained into her, and it seemed as though it was impossible for her to un-learn them. Sure, it was an excellent skill to be able to mask emotions during battle, but in her case, she needed to let some sort of emotion loose, just to release her spirit power. It was like a thin layer of calm had grown over her skin, and was preventing the escape of any emotions, and more importantly, reiatsu.

He was at his wits end, concerning Tatsuki. He hadn't told her yet, but he suspected she knew – that was why she kept trying harder, and harder. But if she couldn't break this barrier…

His thoughts were interrupted, as the sliding door behind him opened. He looked up from his cross-legged seating position on the floor, to see Tatsuki holding two glasses of iced tea. She sat down a ways from him, and set the glass in front of him. The two said nothing, but basked in comfortable silence. Finally, Tatsuki spoke.

"Do you miss your family?"

Renji looked up. That was a rather personal question. The two had avoided becoming personal with each other – they were more like sparring partners – but both knew it was inevitable that they soon start learning about each other's personal life. They just hadn't known how soon. Oh, they had gotten to know each other quite a bit, after their first spar – it was almost as if the fighting bought them closer together, something they both had in common. Tatsuki now knew exactly what mixture of shampoo and conditioner Renji liked to use on his hair, and what he liked to brush his hair with. She also knew that he spent more time in the bathroom than she did in hers. Renji, on the other hand, now knew what toothpaste Tatsuki used, what was her favourite colour, and when her birthday was etc. So, it wasn't really a surprise when Tatsuki had bought up the topic of family. After all, they had spent way too many nights fighting about the aspects, of, well, fighting.

"I…I didn't have any family."

"Oh."

"It was more like…well, I grew up with a group of friends, and we used to help each other…with living, basically."

Tatsuki cocked her eyebrow. "What was it like?"

Renji scratched the back of his head. "Oh…it was fun…" he said, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

There was a pause, before Tatsuki asked her next question. "Where are they now?"

"Dead. Every…" he hesitated. Rukia did count as one of his friends he grew up with – but what did that mean? She might as well have been dead, the way things were going now. "…Well, one of them is still alive," he said. When Tatsuki didn't say anything, he continued. "It's Rukia."

"Oh," Tatsuki replied, untucking her legs from beneath her, and hugging her knees. "You must be close."

Renji barked out a sharp laugh. Ironic, he thought. "We were."

"You know," he continued, not letting her question his use of past tense, "You're kind of like her."

Tatsuki put her drink down carefully, so that it wouldn't spill. "I'm not like her. She's pretty, petite, cute, and polite," she said. "I'm none of those."

"That's just Rukia at school," Renji retorted. "If you got to know her…"he trailed off, letting Tatsuki observe the stab of pain that shot through his eyes. He was about to say, 'If you got to know her, just like Ichigo did…' but stopped; because of the pain he felt when he bought up that subject. "Anyway, what about your family," he said quickly, trying to change the subject.

"My family…" Tatsuki paused for a moment, thinking of how to reply to his question. "My mum and dad go on lots of business trips, so I'm left alone most of the time. I don't have any siblings," she finished, as if that was supposed to imply something.

Renji didn't really know what to say, so he kept his silence.

"I guess that's why I was good friends with Ichigo," she continued. "Because I didn't really have anyone around my age to play with, and he was the only one…even if he was a mummy's boy," she said with a sad smile. "But, after his mum died, he was never the same. And then Rukia showed up, and it almost seemed like he got worse."

Renji merely grunted. Tatsuki couldn't possibly comprehend what exactly Ichigo had taken away from him. It wasn't that he hated Ichigo, it was only natural for him to feel some sort of feeling against the guy, because after all, it was obvious to Renji that he would eventually reciprocate Rukia's feelings towards him.

Another few moments of silence passed.

"Do you want to go somewhere tomorrow night?" Tatsuki said, after draining her glass.

"Somewhere?"

"There's a carnival on in the middle of the city. Usually I'd invite Orihime but…" Renji saw a familiar pain shoot through Tatsuki's eyes. It was similar to…the pain he felt when he lost Rukia.

"Yeah," he said, not really caring. He was too engrossed in trying to find out what that expression of pain meant – it drew him closer to her, because he felt as if there was someone out there who knew what it was like to lose a best friend.

When Tatsuki left a few minutes later, he looked down and realised that he had totally forgotten about his drink. He looked at the glass, somewhat amused. He thought that there was only one person that had had that effect on him – Rukia, but obviously he was wrong.

- - -

Renji tried not to look disappointed when Tatsuki landed a punch on his arm, but nothing happened. Nothing. The girl was fast, strong, and flexible, but she just couldn't do it. He obviously failed at looking disappointed because he saw Tatsuki's face mirror his.

"I don't think you can do it," he stated bluntly.

Tatsuki looked down. She hated giving up, but it was as if he was asking her the impossible. "What do I need this damn skill for anyway?" she said, in an unexpected outburst.

"If a hollow comes…" Renji had already explained to her about hollows. But for some reason, no hollows had turned up in the past month.

"When is it going to come?" she interrupted him. "I can't just unlearn what I've been learning all my life, Renji."

"Then you really should give up," Renji replied in a cold tone.

Tatsuki looked up, her eyes burning. She threw a vicious punch at him, which he blocked, and held her fist. After a few seconds there was a slight tingling in his palm, but that was it. He hadn't got her angry enough. She wouldn't be able to do it after all, he thought.

- - -

They arrived at the carnival by the time the sun was setting. Renji didn't actually like crowds, but tonight, he was feeling quite good. But that was probably because he hadn't actually gotten out of the house for the better part of four weeks, so he was quite happy to quash his dislike for large crowds in exchange for just getting out. Tatsuki, on the other hand, didn't actually mind large crowds, as Inoue and her always used to go out to this type of thing. At first, Tatsuki had gone to these 'carnivals' just to please Orihime, but in the end, she found that she didn't mind the change of entertainment. But then again, that was with Orihime. Which was why, they both suddenly felt awkward standing at the entrance of the carnival, not knowing what to do.

Renji just didn't know what to do, because he was too busy gaping at all the lights and rides that beckoned him to come. Tatsuki just didn't know where to take him. Was this a date, of sorts? She hadn't really thought about it, when she asked him, it was just that she too had a desire to just get out of the house, but when she had asked Orihime, the other girl had profusely apologised, saying that 'Ishida-kun' had invited her to go somewhere with him that night.

Now they were standing there, like dumbstruck idiots.

Tatsuki decided to take matters in her own hands, and off by getting some food. That would probably appeal to the red-haired shinigami. Over the past month she had realised that he could really put it away. Thank goodness her parents had decided to stock the fridge and pantry with provisions. However, when she turned around to tell Renji exactly what she wanted to do, she was shocked to find that he had disappeared.

Knowing that his sense of direction wasn't that excellent, nor was he familiar with the surroundings, she quickly scanned the surroundings. There, she thought, as she ran off in the direction of the hot headed shinigami.

"What are you doing?" she exclaimed somewhat angrily, as she reached down to grab his hand, intending to drag him to the food stalls. "I want to eat first."

To her surprise he didn't let go of her hand, instead he pointed upwards at the Ferris wheel, which was, by coincidence, right in front of them.

"People are…riding that," he shakily exclaimed.

Tatsuki rolled her eyes. She had forgotten that wherever he came from, they probably didn't have Ferris wheels, as she listened to him excitedly (like a little boy) ask her if they could go on it.. But, it wasn't like it was that great anyway, she thought, as she paid for the tickets. Thankfully the line was short, and she ignored the fact that he hadn't let go of her hand, even though it seemed that he wasn't aware of it as well. Instead he was just looking up at the massive wheel turn around.

She didn't actually mind him holding her hand, but if he continued gaping upwards like that, people would start to think things. That was why, she was rather glad when they got on the Ferris wheel, because people couldn't see him stupidly looking around.

Once he got over the initial shock of the wheel actually turning (after his second time), the ride itself was quite boring. Didn't they have any thrilling kind of things at this 'carnival'? Tatsuki had told him there wasn't much better, and that he would have to visit something called a 'theme park' if he wanted to be thrilled.

"Who did you say usually comes with you here?" Renji asked, looking out over the carnival. There seemed to be a dark place in the middle of the carnival.

"Orihime. But she told me she had somewhere to go tonight." Something in her voice…sounded bitter.

"With?" Renji asked again. From what he remembered of the girl, she didn't seem like the type to go somewhere alone.

"Uryuu Ishida."

The name hung in the air between the two. Somehow Renji knew not to make the usual smart-alec comments, because Tatsuki sounded deadly serious. "Oh," was all he managed.

When Tatsuki sighed, he trusted himself to look at her. "Those two…have been getting closer ever since they came back from last holidays. I don't really mind, since Ishida seems like a good person…but…it's annoying."

"I know."

Tatsuki looked up. "No you don't," she said. "You...you don't know what it's like to lose one of your only friends to an almost complete stranger," she finished in an almost complete whisper.

"No... I know," Renji said, looking out over the carnival again. The dark spot intrigued him, as he thought of a response to give Tatsuki. "Rukia…was my one of my closest friends…and then Ichigo took her away," he said quietly. "So I know exactly what you mean."

"You…" Tatsuki was at loss for words. He wasn't just saying that he understood, after all. She had heard him muttering to himself about Rukia, but hadn't really known the true nature of their relationship. But just now, when he had said her name, it sounded like something he had lost. "You…do you love her?" She didn't know where that question came from, it just had popped out of her mouth.

"I…what's that dark spot there?" Renji asked, changing the subject quickly.

Tatsuki looked out over to where Renji was pointing. "Oh that. That's a small lake. They can't really put any lights over it, so it's a bit darker, even though it's in the middle of the carnival. Besides, there are a bit of trees around it, so they don't bother."

"Oh."

"So," Tatsuki said, reminding him of the topic at hand. "Do you love her?"

Renji was about to answer, but instead swore quietly under his breath. His heartbeat nearly doubled, and it seemed the like the happy carnival music had turned into something much more foreboding, something much faster paced. And scary. "Shit. We need to get off this thing. Fast," he said urgently, not taking his eyes off the lake in the middle of the carnival.

They were going down now, and it was harder to see amongst all the hung lanterns and lights. "I think this is the last turn. Why?" Tatsuki asked, curious. There was something in the tone of his voice that told her that he merely wasn't trying to change the subject.

Renji didn't answer, but dragged Tatsuki by the hand off the Ferris wheel as soon as it stopped. Taking her a fair distance away, he sat her down on a bench.

"Whatever you do, don't move. I'll be right back," he said. Leaving her before she could say anything, he ran towards the lake, where he had felt…that presence.

- - -

Thankfully, it was just as Tatsuki had said, it was dark around the lake, and he pushed himself out of his gigai. As he placed his gigai in the shadows of a tall tree, his pulse suddenly seemed to be a lot louder. Thudding in his ears. He walked to the edge of the lake, each step making the hairs on his body stand on end. At the edge, he unsheathed his soul slayer.

Shit. Zabimaru, I don't know if I'm fully recovered yet. But even if I was…

"I know you're there. Show yourself," Renji called out across the lake, his voice surprisingly low and steady.

The sounds of the carnival were strangely drowned out, and silence reigned for a few seconds. Finally, at the other side of the lake a white robed figure stepped out from behind a tree.

"An' here I was, jus' admirin' the happy scenery." The sneering voice, coupled with the eerie smile plastered on his face, confirmed Renji's suspicions. Soul Society would never forget that smile.

Renji tightened his grip around Zabimaru's hilt. He knew who this man was. When he growled out the other man's name, the carnival music and buzz seemed to stop completely.

"Ichimaru Gin."

- - -

AN: Ah! That last part freaked me out a bit. And I was writing it! Scary! Anyway, review, so I can get up the next chapter. I hope you liked it…Yeah, things are looking serious now, aren't they? Again, review, so I may partake of your inspiration you reviewers give me. Thanks!