A/n: Yes! All of the important stuff is over...sort of. Well, vacation is over, I finished my report, and did some other important stuff. I've been thinking about starting another fic. But I wanted to update this first, then work on the other. I'd also like to add another chapter before winter break ends. I hope you enjoy the chapter and write lots of reviews! (I'm serious. Join the revolution. If you read it...review it. No flames though)

WARNINGS:Yaoi, AU

Accepting Denial

Renji batted furiously at Zabimaru's small head. Why the cat had insisted to wake him by sticking her sand papery tongue into his ear was beyond him. His ears had always been a sensitive spot. They were very ticklish and even the most feather-light touch could make him fling his arm out at the offender as an immediate reaction.

Calm down, Ren-chan. It's just your wonderful kitty.

"I know who it is," Renji snapped, "who else would wake me up at some unreasonable time by sticking their tongue in my ear, and who said you could call me Ren-chan?"

Fine, Renji. It's not an unreasonable time; it's 10:30. Zabimaru stated plainly as she jumped off of Renji's bare chest and onto the floor. To Renji, it seemed like this small, marsupial-looking cat couldn't stay still. She would only stay in one spot for a few seconds, then she would stand up and move again.

"10:30?" Renji raised an eyebrow.

What did you expect? You went back to bed during mid morning. Which is normal for your kind.

"My kind?" He was truly confused by Zabimaru's answer.

You're a smart boy; you figure it out. She replied casually as she licked her paw then hopped back onto the bed.

His kind. Renji could remember something about changing species. It was something that should have came to him easily, but he couldn't think of what it was. Supernatural. The word that ran through Renji's mind made him scoff with disbelief. Oh, yeah. He had been told by this cat, that had appeared on his door step during early morning hours, that he had become a vampire, an immortal, something that wasn't real.

"You told me that, somehow, magically, I became a vampire overnight." He rolled his eyes at the word vampire.

Yes and no. Yes, I did say that you're a vampire. No, I said nothing about you becoming one magically overnight. Becoming a true vampire is a long and painful four year process that requires lots of training and will power to complete.

"It's a process?" Asked the now-curious Renji.

Of course! Zabimaru giggled loudly; she acted as though this were the most obvious thing in the world. Did you really think that all of the wonderful perks that come with vampirism could occur overnight? Living forever takes a while to achieve. By this time Renji had sat up and leaned forward. He was now more interested in what she was saying. Zabimaru pounced onto his right arm and began to scale it. When she reached his shoulder, she sat down and let her long tail wrap around his neck. She positioned one of her tiny paws in front of his ear and used the other one to tap on his head. Silly red head. She padded back down and rested in his lap.

"What do ya have to train for?"

Ask me more later. I'm hungry. She complained, obviously trying to change the subject to herself.

"What would you like me to do about it?"

It's simple. Get. Me. Some. Food.

"I knew that, asshole, I was wanting you to tell me about the store that's open at 10:37 at night."

I don't know.

Renji sighed heavily. "Come one you nuisance," he growled as he plucked Zabimaru off of his lap and positioned her under his left arm, "I think I may have something in the kitchen." Renji shuffled through the hallway not even bothering to turn the lights on as he went. For some reason, he didn't feel the need to. His vision was perfectly fine; as a matter of fact, the irritating sting that he had felt in his eyes had faded away. Although Renji's head still swam from the super vision he had somehow obtained, he was satisfied with the absence of the sting.

The red head gently placed Zabimaru on the kitchen floor then turned and began to sift through his unruly cabinets. Cookies, crackers, a tub of gummy bears, gum, pocky, pretzels, sour straws, a cup of beef flavored instant ramen. Why did he have that? Renji had never been a fan of beef ramen. It was show off-y and unoriginal. He preferred miso. Renji shook his head, redirecting his train of thought back to the problem at hand. None of the items he had seen seemed suitable-or at least he didn't think they were-for a cat to eat, a dog, maybe, but not a cat.

Hurry up! I'm hungry! Zabimaru whined.

Renji ignored her and continued to search. After a few more moments of rifling through miscellaneous items, he turned to Zabimaru and called over his shoulder. "How do you feel about bread?"

Let me look at it.

"Why do you need to look at it?"

I just do. Zabimaru replied.She rose from her sitting position on the floor and jumped onto the counter. She padded over to the bag of bread and stared down at it for a moment. Slowly, she raised her paw and cautiously poked at the bag then quickly drew it back. She was acting as though the bag had some sort of infectious disease.

"Well?" He prodded.

I suppose I can eat it, but tomorrow I'll expect cat food. I like the wet chicken flavored kind, by the way.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll take note of it. Now get off my counters; I have to cook on those." Renji replied as he swatted at the cat.

He looked down at the bag. Renji had really wanted to conserve his last four pieces of bread. He had planned on making a sandwich, but he decided that giving it to Zabimaru to stop her whining was a worthy cause. Reluctantly, Renji threw the bread into a plastic bowl and sat it on the floor.

No water? Zabimaru raised a nonexistent eyebrow.

"Fine," Renji grumbled. He turned and grabbed another bowl, much like the first, and filled with tap water from the sink.

Tap water?

"You're a cat! It doesn't fucking matter!"

I don't like tap water. I only drink bottled water.

"Okay, okay, I'll buy some tomorrow."

Renji watched as the small cat wolfed down all of the bread in only a few seconds. Zabimaru stared hesitantly at the water. Eventually, she began to lap at it. She then looked up at him and innocently blinked two extremely large pale jade eyes. "Satisfied?" Renji asked.

I guess.

"Now, back to my questions," Renji and Zabimaru made their way over to couch. He sat down and allowed her to make herself comfortable on his lap. "What do you have to train for?"

As I told you earlier, becoming a vampire is a very tedious and grueling process. It was not meant for everyone. Only a select few are chosen. The humans who are chosen to join are considered strong and honorable. It is a great privilege to join. Once you are chosen, there is no way to escape it. No matter how hard you try, you can not avoid it you; will be marked before you begin to grow old and wither.

"What do you mean by 'marked'?" He asked, now more curious than ever.

Zabimaru rolled her eyes. Why do you care? I thought you were human. You don't believe in vampires, remember! She nudged his hand with her nose.

"Well, maybe I'm starting to believe." Renji shifted uncomfortably.

Sure, okay, if you say so. Anyway, being marked means that you are given a special tattoo. Everyone has one, and no tattoo is alike. They are all original, goddess given gifts. Like your tattoos. She rubbed her head against his chest. Tattoos can be in the same place, but they won't look the same. Gin Ichimaru, for example, has a serpent-like tattoo that wraps around his arm.

Gin Ichimaru. That name sounded familiar. He had heard it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where. Thinking about this name made him feel sick. Really sick.

"Tell me mo-" It hit him mid-sentence.

Renji bolted upright, receiving an irritated hiss from Zabimaru, and began to run as quickly as he possibly could without letting go of what he was holding back. When he reached his destination in the kitchen, he heaved whatever he had eaten that day into the sink.

Oh, boy, am I a slacker or what! Zabimaru exclaimed. She sprung onto the kitchen counter and stared up at the the red head with, what he thought, was a smirk on her face. I should probably get you to the infirmary.

"Infirmary? It's just vomit, nothing to go to the hospital about, and get off of my counters." He batted at her lazily then let his hand fall back to his side. He felt much weaker than he had only seconds before.

Oh, but you do, my silly red head! You see your last days as a full-blood human are becoming numbered. You're heaving up your humanity. Starting now you are officially on the road to becoming a vampire.

"No, I am not 'on the road to becoming a vampire', because...They. Don't. Exist. Vampires are not real."He was lying. For some odd reason, Renji was beginning to believe. Something about what Zabimaru was saying to him struck a cord in his mind.

Do you really believe that, Renji? Or are you just lying to yourself?

No reply came.

You do believe it, Renji. You know what you are. Stop denying it. If you do, you'll just continue to get ill until you're hospitalized, and none of those human doctors can do anything for you. Renji didn't like the way she said human. It was filled with hate. She was speaking of them as if they were some inferior species that meant nothing. As if they were...untouchables. I can't believe myself. I'm referring to my own kind as...them.

"Fine, Zabimaru, tell me what I need to do," Renji mumbled reluctantly as he turned his head away from her.

That's the spirit! She said cheerily. Well, let's see here, um...Oh, yeah! Okay, first of all, how are you feeling?

Renji tilted his head to the side. He didn't understand what this had to do with the situation at hand, but who was he to disagree? "Nauseous."

Mm, hm. Does you feel hungry? Do your eyes sting? Do you feel dizzy? Does your chest hurt? The flurry of questions sent Renji's head into a frenzy.

Did he feel hungry? If it did, he hadn't noticed it. Now that he thought of it, he was kind of hungry, but not for food. For something else. Maybe he had been ignoring it. His eyes didn't sting, anymore. Of course he felt dizzy, his vision was inappropriately accurate. No, his chest didn't hurt.

"Yes, no, yes, and no," Renji replied quickly. He felt another wave of nausea washing over him. He leaned back into the sink and promptly after doing so, vomited again.

Zabimaru lifted her head up and titled it to the left. She then twisted her mouth to the left side of her face and closed her right eye. If Renji had been feeling better, he would have laughed at Zabimaru's odd facial expression. "What are you doing?"He tried to resist the urge to chuckle, but ultimately, failed.

Don't mock my thinking face.

"Thinking face?" He raised a brow.

Yes, thinking face. She spat.

"What are ya thinking about?"

How many days you have to say goodbye to your humanity and those that you hold dear to you.

"I-I can't see my friends anymore."

You'll have to wait quite a few years before you see them again. It's all about control, my dear boy.

"Fine, continue thinking," He whispered as he slumped down to the floor and leaned against the counter letting his long, crimson hair fall into his face. He didn't like the idea of leaving Rukia behind. They were extremely close to dating, and he didn't want to make a mistake and ruin another relationship.

He closed his eyes. Thinking about Izuru made him feel sick, again. Renji really did like him, but he had acted like a jerk and ruined the possibility of anything ever happening between the two of them. They still spoke to one another, sometimes, but things were awkward now and they didn't hang around each other as often as they used to. He missed having his friend around. Renji would make sure to say goodbye to him.

Three days.

"Huh!" Renji said stupidly as his eyes snapped open and he sat up straight.

You have three days left of humanity.

"Only three?"

Normally, a new born would have about ten days, but it seems that when it comes to growth and change, yours goes a lot faster. If I were you, I'd start saying my goodbyes tomorrow. You can call your friends after three days are up, but you can not meet them in person.

"Understandable." Renji lied. He didn't understand. Did Zabimaru think he would kill his friends? He wouldn't. He wouldn't kill anyone. Renji knew he could control himself.

"I think I'm going to go and take a walk." Renji stood up slowly balancing himself by holding onto the counter. Zabimaru jumped onto the floor and began to follow behind him. He grabbed a shirt off of the coat rack that rested by the door and pulled it on hastily. Why do you have a shirt on your coat rack? Come to think of it, why do you have a coat rack at all?

"It's a very long, unnecessarily graphic story that I don't feel like telling to you." Renji replied. He shuddered and winced as an awful mental picture that involved a banana and an unsuspecting poodle popped into his mind.

Aw, come on! I gotta know! Zabimaru whined.

"I'm no telling you, so you might as well move on." He said sternly as he flung the door open.

"Why are-"

Anywhere that you go; I go. She interrupted. Renji nodded softly as he turned and exited his apartment. As he walked down the hallway, he noticed a bunch of boxes that were stacked up beside the door of the apartment opposite his own. Who would start moving their things in at this hour? Oh, well, it wasn't like he cared.

Weird. I wonder who's moving in this late at night. Maybe it's another vampire. Only other night people would be up and tedious things, that no one really wants to do, at this hour. Do you think it's another vampire?

"I don't know, Zabimaru, and I don't really care. Just stop talking-"

Thinking. She cut in.

"Zabimaru!" He snapped.

Sorry.

Renji closed his eyes as he maneuvered down the seemingly never ending hallway. When Renji neared the turn towards the elevator, he ran into something solid.

"Watch it! Why do ya have your eyes closed? Are ya stupid or-"

Renji's rustic eyes snapped open revealing a boy with orange hair, chocolaty eyes, and a scowl on his face. What the hell had he done to this kid? He was scowling at him as if Renji had just kicked a puppy right in front of him. This kid was making him even more irritated than he already was. His head was throbbing. Renji needed to focus all of his attention on this kid so he could shoot the proper dirty look at him. He supposed that his glare is what had stopped the kid mid-sentence. "What?" He growled as he stared into the kid's eyes. The kid's eyes widened and his scowl disappeared.

"S-sorry I ran into you. I-I-I gotta go." He looked as tough he was completely captivated by Renji. He brushed past him and began dashing down the hall. Renji looked in his direction for a few moments then turned back towards the door and began to walk again. Renji didn't like him. They had said very few words to each other, and he already knew that he and this kid were not going to get along. There was something about him that bothered Renji. Maybe it was that scowl.

That kid likes you.

"Huh, oh, yeah, that kid." Annoying bastard. What did I do to him?

You shouldn't think that way. He likes you.

"Whatever." Renji mumbled as he rolled his eyes. I must admit, that kid was cute. He thought.

I heard that.

Renji blushed brightly as he turned away from her. "Let's go." Tomorrow, Renji would begin to say his goodbyes, espeacially to Izuru. His Izuru.

A/n: Woo! I finished the chapter before New Year's Eve! Rejoice Well, I know it's a crappy ending to the chapter, but it's late and Random Kitty isn't feeling her best. I have a cat named Fluffy(I know, the name is super original!) and she's really picky about what she eats and drinks. I want to add a lemon into later chapters of the story, but I suck at writing lemons, and that makes me sad (:'( Random Kitty hopes you enjoy this chapter and write a review. Please review. *crying* I love reviews!

-Lotz of Love,

Random Kitty XD