"How far do we have to go?" whined Renji as they walked through yet another district. They'd been walking all morning and it was now past noon. Renji was hungry and irritable and the strange looks they kept receiving from the locals were unnerving.

"I don't think it's too much farther," answered Rukia who was also feeling a bit uncomfortable under the odd perusal from the people they passed.

They walked down the dirt street which was almost completely deserted except for the few faces peeping out of the shadowed alleyways. A small, red haired kid ran out into the street in front of them and tripped, cutting his knee on a rock that was sticking up from the dirt. Rukia jumped forward to help the kid and had to stop herself from gasping aloud when she saw the kids face. He looked almost exactly like Renji when he was a child.

"Are you ok?" she asked, kneeling beside him.

The kid looked up at her with wide eyes and gulped nervously before dashing across the road and disappearing between two depressed looking houses. Rukia stayed kneeling in the middle of the road, her eyes staring blankly at the spot the kid had disappeared behind. Memories of their lives as young kids assaulted her mind. Her friends had meant so much to her, especially Renji. Without him, she didn't think she'd be where she was today.

A warm hand touched her shoulder and she looked up behind her to see Renji standing there, looking at her with concern etched on his face. "What is it Rukia?" he asked.

Rukia hesitated a moment, remembering when she'd decided to become a soul reaper and had asked Renji to join with her. He'd always been there for her, no matter what. She wondered if she deserved that kind of devotion.

"Nothing," she finally answered and rose to her feet. "Let's get out of here."

They passed by the last building of the town and followed the narrowing dirt path through dusty fields, littered with rotting tree stumps and tumbleweeds. After a mile or so, they could see another village ahead, its buildings even more run down than the last.

"I think that's it Renji," said Rukia while she sifted through her papers which Captain Ukitake had given her.

"It's about time," Renji mumbled and shifted the pack on his back. "I suppose they won't have much to eat. Maybe we should set up camp out here before we go in."

"Yea, you're probably right."

Renji cocked an eye at Rukia's answer. Did she actually just say he was right? Something must be bothering her. He knew how she was when she got like this. He knew she wouldn't talk until she was ready so instead of pestering her with questions he simply walked silently by her side till they found a flat spot to lay their things.

When they finished laying out their makeshift beds, Renji looked over at Rukia and caught her staring out into space again. He snatched her hand and pulled her across the space to his lap where he started nuzzling her neck with tiny kisses. His hands moved slowly up her sides, caressing her sensitive skin and making Rukia's breath catch in her throat. His mouth sucked gently on her neck, his tongue poking out to lick her increasingly warm skin. His fingers started to move towards her breasts, skimming the sides till suddenly, his hands moved underneath her arms and he started tickling her; making her wiggle out of his lap and scream as she tried to get away.

"Renji! Stop!" Rukia yelled, her body convulsing on the ground beneath Renji.

"Make me," he said and continued his torture, laughing the whole time.

"RENJI! Oh my God I'm going to kill you! STOP!" she cried out and started kicking him, her legs flying spastically around.

He didn't want to draw attention to them if per chance anyone was actually out there so Renji finally relented and sat back, watching Rukia as she laid her body out over the ground while she tried to catch her breath.

Rukia looked over at Renji's grinning face and quickly smacked him upside the head. She smacked him again for good measure and Renji stood up and stepped back to get away from the attacks. She followed him, running around their small tent which they would only use if it started to rain. She started giggling as she chased him, her thoughts from earlier disappearing.

"You better give up Rukia. You're never going to catch me."

Rukia's brow creased and a moment later, she launched herself across the space and landed on Renji's back. She wrapped an arm around his neck and with the other she reached inside his shirt and cupped a muscular pectoral. "What were you saying Renji?" she whispered into his right ear and pinched his nipple before jumping off his back and walking back to their small camp.

Renji was smiling as he joined her, grabbing something to eat out of his pack. 'That was more like it,' he thought as he watched Rukia grinning back at him.

A few minutes later, after they had both had something to eat, they made their way into the small town. They looked around till they spotted an elderly lady sitting on a dilapidated porch deck.

"Good afternoon. We're uh, we're here to investigate the disappearances in the area lately. Do you know anything about them?" Rukia asked, Renji standing right behind her.

The old lady didn't look up from the pile of yarn in her lap as she said, "It's just stupid gossip. People disappear all the time from these towns. It just seems to be more frequent lately is all." The unfriendly old lady didn't bother to elaborate any further and dismissed them when she turned in her seat.

Renji and Rukia continued down the street, looking for someone else to interrogate. They finally found a middle aged man who was slumped over on the edge of an alleyway, apparently drunk from the contents of the bottle hanging precariously from his fingertips.

"Ah, excuse me," said Rukia as she approached the man wearily.

The man turned his gaze towards Rukia's slight form and snickered while his eyes roamed unabashedly up and down her body. Renji visibly tensed by her side and took a small step closer to her.

"How can I help ya miss?" the man slurred, his eyes resting on Rukia's slender waist.

"We are here to investigate a string of disappearances here lately. We were wondering if you knew anything about them," she asked.

"Ah yes. I've heard people say it's a demon that steels you in the night; that it prays upon your deepest desires."

The man seemed to be a bit over dramatic but Rukia assumed it was the alcohol speaking. "Has anyone seen this so called, demon?" she asked.

"None that I know of," he answered and continued. "Though, one person did see someone being taken."

"Who would that be?"

"Jinu. His wife was taken in the night. He said his wife was making strange noises throughout the night and suddenly got up and walked away." he answered.

Renji was getting annoyed by the conversation. The man wouldn't keep his eyes off of Rukia's body as he talked. "Where is this Jinu?" Renji asked brusquely.

Finally, the drunken man turned his attention away from Rukia to answer, "On the outskirts of town, north. He lives by himself now. There's a little white picket fence around his yard. His wife made him build it several years ago. We all made fun of the man for…"

Renji didn't wait for the man to finish before he stepped away, guiding Rukia with a hand on the small of her back. They walked through the dusty streets, turning this way and that as they made there way to the north side of town. They passed a small shop on the right, its worn sign hanging precariously from a rusty chain.

"Ow!" cried Renji, throwing his hand behind his neck and rubbing the skin beneath his hair line. "What did you do that for?"

Rukia turned questioning eyes to Renji as she said, "Do what?"

"Pinch me. That hurt."

"I didn't pinch you," answered Rukia. Renji's hand was rubbing over the stinging skin as she said, "Maybe it was a bug."

"Yea probably," said Renji, dropping his hand back to his side once the stinging was gone. "There's the place," he said, pointing down the street to a small house with a perfect white fence surrounding it.

When they finally reached the front door, Renji banged on the light blue door and stepped back while they waited for someone to answer. About thirty seconds later, a middle aged man answered the door, his face looking haggard and worn.

"Can I help you?" the man asked. His large brown eyes had dark circles beneath them and his hair stuck out at odd angles like he'd just woken up from a very restless nap.

"Yea. We're here to investigate some of the disappearances that have been happening in this area lately. We were told that you might be able to help us," said Rukia.

The man ran his hand through his messy hair and Rukia could have sworn the man visibly deflated in front of her eyes.

"Come on in," the man said and opened the door wide for the two of them to enter.

Rukia went in first with Renji close behind her. The entrance led into a small foyer with two hooks hanging on the wall to the left, a ladies coat hanging from one and the other empty. On the right side was a narrow staircase that led to a 2nd story. The man led them through the foyer to a small kitchen in the rear of the house. Everything was in perfect order except a few vases full of dying flowers.

The man motioned for them to take a seat around the small round kitchen table and offered them each something to drink; both of whom declined.

"So what can you tell us sir?" asked Rukia as gently as she could. The man looked like his could shatter to pieces at any moment so she didn't want to upset him.

Large brown eyes assessed Rukia before he sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. "It was four nights ago. The evening went by the same as it always does; my wife folding laundry as I worked on fixing that chair over there," he nodded his head to a wooden chair sitting in the corner of the room. "She seemed fine. We went to bed soon after.

A few hours later, I woke up when she got out of bed and walked down the hall. I figured she was just using the bathroom so I went back to sleep. About 30 minutes later I woke up again and she wasn't there. I got worried that maybe she was sick so I got out of bed and went to find her."

His voice started to crack as emotion flooded his lungs. "She was gone."

Rukia's chest clenched at the pain in his voice. "Did she take anything with her?"

He shook his head and said, "Nothing. She just… vanished."

Rukia and Renji sat quietly for a moment as they waited for the man to collect himself. A minute or so later, Renji asked, "Did you notice anything strange during the day? Did she go anywhere?"

The man shook his head as he said, "She was at home all day." He lifted his eyes briefly and added, "She went to the store in the center of town but she does that every day. Nothing unusual there."

Renji nodded and turned to listen to Rukia as she asked, "Do you know anyone else who has gone missing? Maybe one of her friends."

"None that I'm aware of."

"Would you mind if we looked around for a few minutes?" Renji asked.

The man nodded his head and rose from the chair. "I'll show you our bedroom."

They followed him down a narrow hallway into a dimly lit bedroom. A rather large bed for this district rested in the center of the room, a faded flower print comforter covering the mattress. The whole house was spotless.

They both looked around, finding nothing out of the ordinary. The man showed them the living area and then took them around back to a small garden. "She spent most of the day here in her garden. She loves gardening." The mans eyes became distant as he got lost in a daydream.

Rukia felt bad for interrupting when she asked, "Were you with her the whole day?"

"Mostly. I was busy doing stuff around the yard while she gardened."

"Did you go with her to the store?"

"Yea."

Rukia and Renji stood silent for a moment as they both took in everything around them. Like before, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Thank you, sir. You have been very helpful. We're very sorry for your wife. We won't bother you anymore," said Rukia and they quietly walked through the picket fence as the man walked back inside his house, his head hanging down to nearly his chest in sadness.

The sun was starting to set as they made their way back through town. "That doesn't sound like a hollow. Sounds like maybe his wife just left him," said Renji as they walked down the street which was slightly busier than earlier. Several people staggered down the street and a lady could be heard yelling inside a nearby house.

Rukia shook her head and said, "I don't think she left him. Their house was immaculate. They obviously took pride in what they had. That doesn't seem like something someone would do if they weren't happy with where they were. Plus, she didn't take anything with her. He said nothing was missing. Even her coat was still hanging in the house."

"True. But there's no evidence of anything happening to her. People don't just up and walk away in the middle of the night for no reason," said Renji.

Rukia didn't answer. She was lost in thought as they passed the last house in the town and started heading towards their camp. They sat down on their blankets and started eating the food they packed for themselves before they left. When they were finished, Rukia said, "There was no sign of a struggle so I don't think anyone took her unwillingly but maybe, …maybe someone she knew persuaded her to leave her house and then kidnapped her?"

"Maybe we should go back tomorrow and ask him if there was anyone in town that she was close with," suggested Renji who was lying back on his thin mat with his arms folded behind his head.

"Yea maybe," said Rukia as she smiled and climbed over top Renji, lying her body completely over his and snuggling into his warmth.

Renji removed his hands from behind his head and circled them around Rukia's back, a contented smile touching his lips. He could lie like this forever.

Sorry if you found that a little boring and short. I debated on whether I should wait to publish this now or not but I decided I'd go ahead and do it now and hopefully publish another one soon. I kind of wanted to keep this separate from the next chapter.