Before we begin: I don't know when it happened, but finally, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya has a category! We won! On another note, are cats naturally curious?
...legalities...
I don't make any money by making these fanfictions, but I do spend money on buying the manga!
How could he call himself a man? Well, besides the fact that he was sitting on a wooden bench in the middle of a children's playground….no, how could he call himself a man, when it came to his actions? He was a coward, a liar…
Renji couldn't even stand looking at his own reflection in the bathroom when he woke up that morning. It was ironic to think after all these years, the so-called 'traitor' to Soul Society, and the ryoka she loved, would prove to be the most courageous people he had ever known. They would go to the ends of the earth, and even confront the Captain General to save their children, and defy the taboos latched to their relationship.
He thought he had found his own love, nearly more than a decade and a half ago. She was strong, and didn't even need protection despite the hordes of Hollow and Arrancar that had attacked so many years ago. She made his heart flutter, without even being in college then.
They weren't all 'lovey dovey' like Orihime and Uryuu, and Renji believed it was deeper than Rukia and Ichigo's relationship. With her, they knew how to push each other—not each other's buttons—but to their limits. Sparring, fighting, dealing and receiving blow and injury to each other, what relationship was deeper than an empathetic bond like that?
Despite his own criticisms of the orange haired Shinigami representative, Renji found out too late that he had fallen for a human, himself. It was especially troubling to him when Rukia was banished from Sereitei, facing expulsion rather than losing her child; or even divulging the idiot's name.
It scared him. It was a different situation because she was with child, and there was literally no precedent to that…but should a male Shinigami ever had loved a human--especially if he were a vice-captain--and that was found out, strict and immediate action would be taken; action that would take place whether or not he divulged the woman's name.
"Oh, geez Tatsuki…" the red haired man groaned out loud, "Why'd you have to love me!?"
"Woman problems, I assume?" Renji shifted quickly on the bench, irked that someone was eavesdropping on his emotional turmoil. Ready to growl his response, he glanced towards the other side of the bench, only to be disarmed by the curious eyes of the older man sitting there.
The man's bushy white moustache just barely covered the waiting smile on his wrinkled face, and his surprisingly youthful amber eyes peeked out from under his brown fedora. "Oh, sorry, my Japanese is a bit rusty," he chuckled a bit, "did I say something wrong?"
"No…it's pretty good." Renji had to admit, and looked forward again to the laughing kids on the swing set ahead. "You're quite fluent."
"Ah., that's good to hear…" the man laughed heartily. Letting one hand let go of the cane sitting arbitrarily between his legs, he reached into the inside pocket of his brown suit and after taking out a pair of glasses, looked forward towards the swinging kids and sighed happily. "Love hurts, doesn't it?"
"Yeah…it does…" Renji sighed, although glumly.
"Looking at those kids…" the older man began, "…reminds me so much of my grandchild." He paused and glanced towards Renji next to him, before continuing his story. "You see, I had a bit of a qualm with my son, and it's been about a year or two since I've seen them. Beautiful family, really; his wife is a real looker, heheh."
Renji squirmed a bit as the man continued to talk, but opted to be polite and continue listening. "He used to live in Karakura, before moving away to a smaller town close by. Still, I wish I had the courage to just go and visit them, you know?"
"Well I tried to talk with Tatsu…to 'her', and that only pissed her off." He sighed in response.
"Oh…well, did you try explaining anything?"
"What's there to explain?" Renji added, "I left her, and when I went to see her again…that look on her face…it was just painful for her to see me. She was even biting down on her lips so hard..."
"That pain is love, my friend." The old man said casually. "It hurt to see you, because it reminded her how happy she was when you were together. Just by looking at you, I can tell it would have been a terrible burden for you to leave her…must have been an incredible reason, too."
"There's no excuse for a man to just leave." Renji said. "…especially a…a father!" The man sat there quietly for a moment, creating an almost unbearable silence between them.
The old man looked back towards Renji, a small smirk on his face despite the topic at hand, "So man up." He said. "Man up, sonny…" He groaned from standing up from the bench, using the cane to help. "Speaking of which, I'm off to see a doctor about my back, heheh…" He slowly made his way towards the sidewalk, walking at a casual pace rather than out of physical handicap.
"Hey old man…" Renji called after him, "The name's Renji Abarai." The man, startled by his new title, turned towards him with a look of embarrassment on his face.
"Then please, call me Kazuhiro…I have a feeling we'll see each other again, ne?" The man tipped his hat towards Renji, and began walking down the sidewalk again, leaving him to his own thoughts.
---
Outside a small flower shop, a large and burly man leaned against a telephone pole; the wood bending in because of some huge unseen mass. The man eagerly cracked his large knuckles at the sight of movement inside the store, but did not make any moves of his own, as if waiting for orders.
"Ainiki…" he mumbled under his breath, "…I'll wait for Ainiki's signal…" he licked his lips at the thought of it, but held fast to keep his excitement at bay. "…I'll wait for Ainiki's signal…" he mumbled again, "…then I can kill them all…"
Review Response Corner:
(Hey there everyone, if you can't tell right away, Yoruichi Shihouin here! Apparently I'm supposed to be the permanent review responder from now on, but we'll have to see about that, hmmm?)
Komamura-Taicho the Dad?
(Tries to imagine it)
Nope...can't... - Bronx Shogun
(Whether its true or not, Emiko's going to grow up to be a foxy woman, haha)
Horray, the Kurosaki's are back! And Setsuko is acting weird...Wait, who's the mysterious woman? Ping? Do I sense some action here?...
When are the parents seeing each other again? And when is Emiko going to meet him? Does somebody from the group know that he's her father? I would love to see Ichigo's reaction (OMG! You did Tatsuki? You're a father?!!) lol
Anyways...update soon! -MitsukaiMizuno
(And to think that Ichigo's the same one who got so embarrassed whenever I transformed in front of him. And now he has three kids? Go figure…)very interesting so far... more updates please -karenkate-kitty
(I'll definitely see to it that he gets to doing that…we kitties gotta stick together, haha)
HEAD STRAINING!
TO UNDERSTAND!
Cunfusiong to me.
Am I missing something or are you writing this befor the story
befor it is finnished?!?!!
interesting though -2ndsly
(What's wrong hon? Try PMing him, and I'm sure Typewriteman will try to fix up that confusion problem, ok?)
Che... just update.(I don't actually know what to say!) -dragonlayer
(It looks like you came up with something to say, didn't you?)
Tatsuki and Renji? I love this pairing. Update soon with more drama. -darkangel1910
(My favorite pair would have to be me and a nice cool glass of milk…)
Heh. I don't know whether to be laughing from the antics of Setsuko in this chapter or worried by the appearance of one of the infamous Fearsome Four (I believe that's what you called them, right?). I'll just do both.
Update soon! –RadiantBeam
(Fearsome four? Does it have to do with something with a Silver Surfer?)