Chapter 12: First Love
Imnotinsane13: This chapter explains Shuhei's and Kimiko's past… I own Bleach!!! *Holds up a bottle of Clorox.*
You tried to lie and say I was everything… I remember when I said "I'm nothing without you…" Somehow I found a way to get lost in you, let me inside. Let me get close to you. Change your mind, I'll get lost if you want me to. Somehow I found a way to get lost in you…
Renji hears a knock at his door and says, "Enter." The door slides open and an exhausted Kimiko stumbles in, "Hey, Renji…" He stands up and walks over to her, "you okay?" He asks. She slumps over the sofa in his office, mumbling nonsense. "Uh… what was that?" He sits down on said sofa and she rests her head on his lap, lying on her back. "… I went to the matchmaker today…" she says after a long pause. Renji starts petting her head, "Really? What did she say?" Kimiko looks up at him, "She said that I'm the only woman in your heart…" He blushes lightly and looks away, "Well… She got that right…" Kimiko smiles and sighs, "BUT…. She said that SHUHEI has me in his as well…"Renji looks at her, "What!?!" "That's what I said!!! Bya-kun wants to talk with all of us in his office in ten minutes…" She closes her eyes, "… Renji… Did you really mean what you said before Byakuya butted in?" Renji looks at her, "Of course I did. You know I never lie…" She raises an eyebrow, "Oh really?" She gets up and kneels on the cushion next to him, "What about that time I asked if the makeup I was wearing made me look like a clown!?" Renji laughs, "That was different!!! I didn't make you look like a clown… It made you look like a freaking jester!!" They both laugh and they then realize… how close they are. Renji blushes and leans a little closer to her. She blushes and closes her eyes. She feels Renji's breath on her face as he lightly presses his lips on hers. She adds some pressure and he's more than willing to return it. He slowly 'crawls' over her, while Kimiko leans back. The kiss quickly gets more and more heated as she wraps her arms around his neck and his hands go to her waist.
There's a heavy knock at the door and they both fall over, Kimiko landing on top of Renji. The door opens and Shūhei walks in, "Hey, Kuchiki-taichō wants to…" He sees the awkward position that Kimiko and Renji are in. Kimiko stands up, "H-Hisagi! Uh, it's not what it looks like?" Renji stands up, "Yeah! We weren't doing anything like that!" Hisagi growls and grabs Renji by the front of his Shihaksho, "What the hell!?" He punches Renji, slamming him against the wall. Renji growls and fights back. Kimiko, meanwhile, throws both of her shoes, hitting them in the back of their heads, yelling, "Knock it off!!" (R&H: "OWWW!!!") They walk to Byakuya's office in an awkward silence. Kimiko knocks on the door and Byakuya says, "Enter." They step in, closing the door. Byakuya motions for Kimiko to walk over to him. She does and he then says, "Hold out your hands, palms down." She does and he places his hands over hers, muttering some strange chant. His hands glow red and he pulls them back, "There…" She looks and Squad six's flower symbol is on her left hand and Squad nine's on her right. Renji and Hisagi have their marks on their hands, "What is this?" Byakuya leans back into his seat, "Those flowers will grow only on Kimiko. In order to decide who will have my sister's hand in marriage I used the old way if there were more than one suitor. The flowers will grow when Kimiko has a deep affection for one or both of you." Kimiko looks at her left hand and four flowers blossom right on her arm like tattoos. Byakuya notices this, "Whoever has the most amounts of flowers by this time next year will marry Kimiko." Shuhei's still has the one flower… Renji looks at him, "… Good luck, Hisagi… I don't intend on losing to you." Shuhei turns to him, "Same here, Abarai." Kimiko sighs, "… Hisagi… We need to talk." She grabs his arm and drags him out of the room. Renji looks at Byakuya, who waves his hand, "You may go."
Kimiko walks with Shuhei into a random room and shuts the door behind her. She presses her forehead to the door for a minute and Shuhei hugs her from behind. She kicks him back, "Idiot!! Why did you have to go and ruin this!? I already TOLD you that we were THROUGH a long time ago!!" He looks up at her, "I know what I did was wrong, but-." "WRONG!?! YOU left without me to become some hot-shot in the Gotei 13!! And what makes it even WORSE is that you didn't fucking TELL me! I had to get it out of Izuru!!" She starts to tear up, "You… You just left without even saying goodbye…" Shuhei stands and says softly, "I didn't say goodbye because I knew we'd see each other again… Kimiko…" He hugs her close, "I still regret that day…" Kimiko closes her eyes and buries her face into his chest, crying… and Remembering.
It's a bright, sunny day at the Soul Reaper Academy… Shuhei walks through the halls, looking at the blossoming Sakura trees. Suddenly, all he sees is darkness… or the back of someone's hands. "Guess who?" He hears a familiar voice tease. "Hmm… Is it… My girlfriend, Kimiko?" "Ding! We have a winner!" She smiles and he turns around to kiss her. "I missed you, Shuhei-kun!" He smiles, "Oh really?" She smiles, "Yeah, really!" He kisses her and, after a few seconds, pulls back. She smiles, resting her forehead on his, "... I love you, Shuhei." He smiles back, "I love you too, Kimiko."
"… We were really happy then… Right?" Kimiko asks. Shuhei nods, "Yeah… We were." She looks up at him, "… You were… my first love, Shuhei…" He looks at her, "… Same with you… Kimiko."
Meanwhile… Renji sighs as he leans against the opposite wall, thinking, "… THEY USED TO GO OUT!!?!?"