Yeah, I had another story by this same name, but I decided last minute to revise it. Greatly. So please enjoy.
Oh, and I don't own Renji, Rukia, or any of the other characters from Bleach.
Stray
Chapter One: When You Held My Hand
He leaned against the tree trunk, the sunlight dappling his tan skin through the leaves on the branches. One of his legs dangled carelessly from the branch he sat on while he folded his arms comfortably behind his head. He shut his dark eyes as he took in the sunlight, sighing contently as the cloudless sky stretched on for miles and miles…
"Oi, Renji!"
The boy only snorted, and tried to return to his morning nap.
"Renji! I know you can hear me!"
He pretended that the all-too-familiar voice did not reach him, and he just kept his eyes shut.
A few moments later, something hard and spherical made contact with his temple. He let out a painful grunt as he caught the object in his hand and found that it was a fresh, red apple.
"What'd you do that for!" he yelled at his assailant below.
The short, dark-haired girl just shamelessly stared at him, her arms folded against her chest. Her black locks have always been cut short; Renji couldn't remember her hair ever being longer. The ends were slightly curled right as they fell towards her neck, and that one stubborn bang was always hanging diagonally against the bridge of her little nose. She was dressed in the white button down shirt and the deep blue skirt that made up the girls' uniform of their middle school. The violet eyes glared at him, her lips slightly pouting like they always did when she was irritated.
"You idiot! The bell's going to ring any minute, and I find you sleeping in a tree!"
Taking care not to drop the fruit, he just snorted at her, his lanky body slipping off the branch, save for his arms which held onto it. He swung his feet back and forth, and when he gained enough momentum, released his grip and landed a few feet in front of his friend, making sure to stick his dismount.
"If school's gonna start soon, why are you here?" he asked, taking a bite of the apple.
"Baka!" she spat at him in a very un-girly like manner as she approached him. "I came to get you, and you're just sitting up there and swinging off a tree branch like you're so cool!"
He smirked at her. "Don't be jealous, Rukia-chan," he emphasized the honorific, doing his best to imitate a lady as he said it. He saw her eyes twitch and her cheeks flushing a deep red that matched the color of his hair. "Just because you can't swing farther than me doesn't mean you have to be so snippy."
"I can swing farther than you!" she retaliated.
"Why don't you prove it?" he jeered at the shorter child, her cheeks got even redder. He loved to tease her, and he knew Rukia could never turn down a challenge.
She glared at him, and then glared at the tree branch, looking as if she was going to go for it until the familiar sound of the school bell rang monotonously through the air.
"CLASS!" she cried, and forgetting her pride for a minute, she took the red-haired boy by the wrist and sprinted as far as she could, causing Renji to nearly drop his apple.
"Oi, oi! We're gonna be late anyway, no need to rush!"
"Nee-san will be mad if I miss class!" Rukia replied, her feet running as fast as they would take her as she dragged the taller boy along the sidewalk.
"The hell you mean? She never gets mad at you," Renji retorted in a nonchalant way, which was his own way to comfort the girl whenever she was high-strung or worried.
Rukia didn't say anything, she just held onto his hand as they rushed through the streets. Renji noticed how warm her little palm felt as it clasped onto his wrist. He realized how fair and soft Rukia's skin was against his, and how delicate her fingers were. He could feel his cheeks becoming red, and he was grateful that she was too worried to look back at him.
She was a tomboy, without a doubt. While other girls her age would play with dolls or play dress-up, Rukia would rather play soccer or race other boys. Other girls would cry whenever they got picked on or were hurt. Rukia would rather die than let anyone see her cry, and she would promptly kick the ass of the person who was mistreating her. It was somewhat frightening, but Renji had seen her beat up guys twice her size.
She was weird. Rukia talked like a guy, and sometimes, she acted like one…but she always had that natural elegance. She wore jeans and shorts, but she liked skirts and dresses, too. Even though she liked to play sports, Rukia still liked plushies, especially Chappy ones. She had an air of dignity no matter what she did. Even now, when she was yelling at him and running through the streets like a madman, she was graceful.
And her skin was so soft.
His cheeks were getting redder, and he glanced down at her hand around his wrist. He nervously gulped and was hesitant at first, but he shifted his wrist while still in her grip and his fingers lightly clasped her hand. Rukia didn't turn around or stop, and he was even more grateful that she hadn't at that moment.
Middle school wasn't that different then elementary: it was still boring as hell. Renji had almost fallen asleep and would have done so, if it weren't for Rukia kicking his chair from behind.
This was their first year of middle school together. Renji could tell his friend was nervous about entering middle school, but he couldn't say the same about himself. School was boring to him, no matter how much Rukia stressed that it was important. He remembered he had stopped going to classes in elementary, until Rukia convinced him (actually, more like forced him) to go back.
And it wasn't like he was stupid, either. On the contrary, Renji was somewhat intelligent. Whenever he did his homework (which is now every night, thanks to Rukia), he got near perfects on them. He performed well on his quizzes and tests, and his grades would always surprise his teachers who always underestimated him since he lived in the less prominent parts of town. So his problem was that he wasn't dumb.
He was just lazy, and he found classes to be pointless.
The bell rang, and the students sluggishly got up from their seats. Rukia was at his side, and they both began to walk out of the classroom.
"You were up late again, weren't you?" she interrogated, her bento clasped firmly in her hand.
"So what if I was?" he said, not bothering to lie to her. He disliked lying to her, and even if he had, Rukia always saw through his lies.
"You shouldn't stay up so late on school nights," she said in that mature tone of hers. Even if she was thirteen, she sure as hell didn't act like it.
"And you don't have to nag me like an old lady," he smirked at her as a hint of anger flashed across her features. He knew she hated being compared to adults.
"I don't nag!" she retaliated, her fist clenched, but Renji knew she wouldn't dare hit him.
Not when there were witnesses.
"Whatever you say, Old Lady Rukia," he shot back, and the bickering continued until they got outside to their usual spot. As they shot insults back and forth, they stopped for a moment to rest underneath the shade of the large tree they always sat underneath. Renji yawned as he stretched out his arms and leaned back against the trunk.
"Man, that history teacher of ours is boring—"
His sentence was interrupted when he felt a small fist slamming itself against his head. He yelped in pain and his hands nursed the newly forming bump on his head as Rukia calmly unfolded the cloth around her bento as if nothing had happened.
"The hell! What's your problem!"
"That's for calling me old," she tranquilly replied, as she opened the lid of her bento to reveal onigiri and the other treats that made up her lunch. Like always, half of the rice balls were cut in the shapes of bunny heads, and the other half was cut in the shape of puppy heads. There was more than enough food for one person, and that was how it always was when Rukia's sister made lunch for her.
Renji quieted down at the sight of the food, and his stomach began to rumble. All he had was that apple from this morning.
Rukia took a dog-shaped onigiri from the bento and handed it to him. "Here."
He took it and began to wolf it down, chewing the rice thoroughly as Rukia neatly ate hers. It wasn't long until he grabbed another puppy-shaped onigiri from the box, and he gulped it down with the extra juice pack that Rukia's sister had packed in the lunch for him.
"Hisana working late again?"
Rukia shook her head. "Not that late, she's coming home at eight tonight. She said she's going to stop and get a movie for us to watch." She turned her head to her red-headed friend, who was still wolfing down his share of rice balls. "Want to come over after school?"
Renji gave her a wary look. "Depends. What you having for dinner?"
"I'm making curry tonight."
He grimaced. "Your cooking's bad enough as it is, and I hate spicy food."
She pouted at him, giving him a firm smack on the head with the edge of her apple juice pack. "If you feel that way, you shouldn't eat at my house every night, then!"
He rubbed his head, grinning at her. Again, he loved to tease her, and they both knew he didn't mean anything malicious by it. Although she would burn things in the past, Rukia's cooking wasn't actually that bad, and sometimes, it was pretty good. He would never admit it though.
After a short silence, she said, "I'll make mild flavor for you, then."
"Mild is still kinda spicy!"
"You're such a wimp."
"Am not!" he shouted indignantly, and a new argument was created. After fifteen minutes of insults and bickering, the two came to a mutual truce. Rukia gave him a bigger portion of the cookies that her sister had packed for them. It was most likely an apology for smacking him on the head earlier.
Renji was raised in the harsher parts of town. He never knew his parents, and he lived with a foster family all of his life. His foster parents never really cared for him, and the feeling was mutual. His clothes weren't the best, and neither parent could cook or even cared to, and neither one cared about his performance in school. But he wasn't angry or depressed. They were adults after all.
And adults couldn't be trusted.
Until the day Rukia moved into the neighborhood, he didn't have anyone he could truly trust. He knew a few kids here and there, but not enough to hang out with them. He didn't see a point of going to school since teachers and classmates alike would always judge him based on where he lived and what he wore. He didn't even see a point to waking up each day.
But when Rukia moved into a nearby apartment, all of a sudden, he had a reason to wake up.
They entered the small apartment after Rukia unlocked the door. Although it wasn't exactly spacious, the living room was nice and tidy. The kitchen was small, too, and Rukia had to share a room with her sister.
Hisana worked two jobs to support Rukia and her. She even began working night shifts to pay the bills and groceries, and Renji remembered that Rukia would stay up to wait for her.
Even though she was still a kid, Rukia made sure to keep the apartment as clean as she could. She learned to cook to help out her sister who was always worried that the girl didn't have any meals to eat while she was gone.
Renji was a bit tired from playing soccer at the park with Rukia and some kids from their grade. Even though he was looked down upon because he wasn't exactly middle-class, no one could deny that he excelled in athletics. He left his backpack on the couch and followed her to the kitchen. Rukia put on an apron that was rather long for her, but it was the only one they had. She began to take out the vegetables and meat, and Renji decided to help her out by getting out a cutting board.
"She'll be home at eight?"
"Yeah," she replied as she began washing the potatoes.
"No hurry to cook dinner then. Come on, let's play something." He said. Rukia took it upon herself to do a lot of the chores that a person wouldn't expect a thirteen year-old to do. Although she didn't say anything, Renji didn't want her to work so hard, so he always tried to get her to do something else before she immersed herself in housework.
"Like what?"
"I dunno. Cards, or something," he answered, seeing his attempts failing as she started on the carrots. Thinking quickly, he looked at the wall clock in the kitchen and an idea flashed in his head. He hurried to the living room and turned on the television, switching through channels until an almost unbearable cute song could be heard, and a dancing rabbit could be seen on the screen.
"Oh, Ruuukiiiaaa!" he called from the living room. "It's 5 o'clock."
He counted the seconds, and then a girlish scream could be heard over the show's cheerful and childish jingle.
"THE CHAPPY BUNNY HOUR!"
In an instant, Rukia materialized inside the living room and took a spot next to him on the couch. As her gaze was fixated on the adorable bunny rabbit that she obsessed over since she was five, Renji smiled warmly. Although he would love nothing more than to pull the rabbit by the ears and stick a piece of dynamite inside its mouth, he could tolerate him in moderate doses for Rukia's sake.
Anything that made Rukia happy couldn't be too bad.
The smell of the potatoes and beef in the bubbling curry made his mouth water. He usually hated curry and refused to eat it until he ate some of Rukia's. When she discovered he disliked spicy foods, she made sure not to make anything excessively spicy. Renji ate dinner at their house every evening since Hisana and her found out that his foster family wasn't exactly concerned whether or not he had anything to eat. Although he was stubborn and proud, he gave in eventually and extra food was packed in Rukia's lunch and a third plate was always set up for him at the table.
The rice was steamed to perfection, and Rukia was setting up the table. She plopped a hearty amount of rice on each plate and ladled the curry over the rice, the potatoes, carrots, and meat bubbling and simmering with the sauce that covered them. Renji helped by getting some water for the two sisters, and milk for himself since it helped him enjoy the slightly spicy food more.
The door opened and a thin, dark-haired woman entered the apartment.
"I'm home, Rukia-chan." She said in her gentle voice, and Rukia approached her with a big smile on her face like she always did.
"Welcome back, Nee-san."
Hisana bent down and hugged her sister tightly to her, a ritual that always commenced when she came home. Upon looking at them, Rukia looked a lot like her older sister. Hisana's hair was longer, and her eyes weren't the same shade of violet as her little sister's. They both acted very differenty, too. Hisana was timid compared to Rukia, who didn't hesitate to beat up anyone who would dare to bully her. However, like her younger sibling, Hisana hated to see others in pain.
She looked over her sister's shoulder to see the gruff-looking red-haired boy and smiled. "Hello, Renji-kun."
He involuntarily twitched at the honorific, but he nodded. "Oi, Hisana."
She was the only one who got away with calling him that. Renji even allowed himself to trust Hisana since she was Rukia's older sister and went out of her way to do things for her little sister, like finding the time to pack her lunch or taking off a day when she was sick.
"My, something smells delicious," Hisana declared as she went to the table to find a hot dinner waiting for her.
All three sat down and began to eat, Hisana asking them about their day, and the children doing likewise. Renji observed how happy Rukia was as she ate and talked with her sister, and he smiled in spite of himself. He always liked eating at their home. Hisana treated Renji like a little brother, and she never looked down at him or saw him as a freeloader. Rukia admired and loved her older sister, and because of that, Renji didn't mind that she trusted Hisana. He didn't like adults in general, but Hisana was the exception. She didn't do anything that made him suspicious, and she was always concerned about Rukia.
In short, Hisana and Rukia were like a family to him.
After dinner, Hisana put on the movie she rented and all three of them sat in front of the TV, sharing a bowl of popcorn. It was the newest Chappy movie that was released a week ago, much to Renji's dislike. But hearing Rukia sing along with the theme song and seeing Hisana try to follow along with her sister was enough to hold onto his sanity.
He was unable to rest. Since he was at their house so often, sometimes until it was too late to walk the streets, Hisana always let him sleep in the extra futon that they kept in their closet, and on the weekends, Rukia and him would stay up playing a game or watching TV until they fell asleep. He would usually sleep in the living room. Renji didn't bother to ask permission from his foster family; he knew they couldn't care either way.
Usually, it would only take a few minutes for him to fall asleep, but something kept him from doing so. Rukia was awake, which meant that something was bothering her. He knew because she kept tossing in her futon. He wanted to be awake when she would finally tell him what was on her mind.
"Renji?"
He heard her voice through the darkness, and he yawned sleepily.
"What is it?"
She sat up from her futon, the light from the street lamps illuminating her dark hair and eyes as she gazed at him. "What do you think happened?"
He sat up and stared at her quizzically. "What're talking about?"
"What do you think happened to Nee-san?"
He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? She looked fine today."
Rukia just played with the loose thread of her futon. "She wasn't all there tonight…it was like something was on her mind."
"If there was, couldn't be anything too bad. She didn't look worried," he said as he laid back on his futon.
"It's not like it was anything bad…it's just…Nee-san seemed distracted tonight. Like she was with us, but her mind was somewhere else."
Whatever was bothering Rukia was serious, since she was awake this late. Whenever something bothered her, she would just stare at the floor, she wouldn't even look at him again. Renji groaned and sat back up. If she couldn't sleep, then he couldn't sleep either.
"I wish we don't have to move."
Renji looked at her puzzled, dumbfounded by the sudden change of topics. "Eh?"
"Nee-san was talking about looking for a better job…something that paid more. She was looking through the paper and found an opening for some job in the city. She says she's going to apply and hopefully they'll consider interviewing her."
He felt a slight feeling of anxiety overcome him, but he shook it off. "So? That's good isn't it?"
"What if we have to move? What if Nee-san gets the job and we have to move into the city to make it easier for her to get to work?"
As she voiced her concerns, Renji did his best to hide the anxiety and fear he was feeling. "Hisana can take the bus can't she? Besides, they haven't even called her for an interview, right?"
Rukia nodded, and he just snorted. "No reason to be worried, then. Now, it's late as hell. Go to sleep."
"But Renji…"
"What?"
"What if she does get it and we have to move? What if I have to switch schools? What if I can't see you anymore…"
He saw the sadness in her eyes as she stared at the floor. Her features illuminated by the streetlights outside. Her fair skin was bathed in the light, and the light even shone in the dark violet pools of her eyes and the black locks of her hair. Even when she was sad, she was graceful about it.
And she was still pretty.
Renji pushed his thoughts back aside. He had to keep his own emotions in control; he couldn't show Rukia that he was scared. She needed him now, and he would be useless if he confirmed everything that she was afraid of.
"Rukia…" he started in a calming tone that he wasn't too familiar with, "it'll be fine. If Hisana will get that job in the city, I'm sure she can take the bus. Even if you do switch schools, we can still hang out."
Rukia looked up at him with those violet eyes of hers, gazing at him.
"Besides, who else is gonna watch you if you go to another school?" he said, switching back to his confident, teasing self. "A weakling like you will be easy prey to those city kids—"
A fist crashed onto the top of his head, and he yelped again. He could feel another bump slowly forming, and he glared at her.
"What the hell! I try to make you feel better and you punch me!"
"Idiot," she simply replied as she laid back onto her futon, her back facing him.
"Whatever," he grunted, and he lied down on his side in his futon.
A moment of silence passed, and the sound of sirens wailed faintly in the air.
"Renji?"
"Yeah?"
"…thanks."
A smile crept on his lips, and he just snorted. "Go to sleep, already."
He waited until she fell asleep, and he too shut his eyes, the sound of her soft breathing the last thing he heard.