Title: A Place for My Heart

Summary:Lieutenant Renji Abarai worked his way up the ranks from the hellish 79 district. When he meets a young woman from the 80 district can she heal his broken heart and teach him that the most treasured things in life are in fact the times of struggle? RenOC

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach… that belongs to Kubo Tite… because if I did… Orihime would not exist…

Shalan's Say: Uhm… from what I have seen there really hasn't been a REAL fic with just Renji and another character in it… and I really don't like RenRuki… but you all know that… I'm an IchiRuki writer… but uhm… yeah… I'm going to write this… I know it's not RenTat like most people like… but I just can't put her into this story since it's kinda within the series… Uhm… I hope you all like it… if you liked any of my other stories… then I'm sure you'll like this one…

Chapter: Getting Away With Nothing

Renji sighed as he walked along the pathways of the Rukongai. It had been quite a while since he had been out in the outer city and it almost surprised him how many things hadn't changed since he was a small boy. His eyes dimmed slightly as he saw a little kid pulling the same ploy that he had come up with when he was a kid. He smiled lightly as he walked past another set of tables. Several of the people looked at him with disdain and he looked off to the side almost painfully.

He walked on, out past the outskirts of the 79th district towards the water. He placed his hand gently on the hilt of his sword as he walked forward towards the beautifully lit water. The sun was going down, setting on their world for the time being. He closed his eyes. This was the perfect time. The sunset. It was like his life. His eyes opened slightly.

It was like how his life always had been… everything came to an end… just like… the daylight.

'… you are nothing but a monkey reaching into a lake for the moon's reflection…' his look darkened. Byakuya Kuchiki. The man that had finally come to respect him after so many long years. Rukia… he looked into the water and suddenly saw her there again. He smiled. His best friend through all of the years. They had been driven apart for a long time… and now finally were able to be friends again.

'…Renji!' Ichigo's voice interrupted his thoughts again. The man that he had come to respect… the man that seemed to cause so much trouble for them all but always came through in the end. The two had begun their friendship rather shakily but in the end they had become trusted allies.

So many things had happened since the days in the Rukongai… Renji sighed lightly. He and Rukia had become best friends… then they had been torn apart again. He had made a few new friends. He supposed that counted for something. But there was still something missing… a part of him that he knew should exist.

There was his fighting spirit, his power, his strength. But behind all of that was his soul, broken and weary of all the things that plagued it to begin with. Poverty had forced him to become what he was today… but was he happy where he was?

"Abarai where are you going?" Byakuya had asked him earlier that day.

"I'm going out into the Rukongai… I want to revisit some of my old haunts…" he had replied and Byakuya had nodded.

Byakuya Kuchiki, his captain and the adopted brother of his best friend. Renji still didn't quite understand the other man yet… and for some reason that had become something of an agreement between the two… not to ask questions just to believe the other man without and explaination.

But that wasn't what bothered him…

Ichigo and Rukia had finally admitted their love for each other… that made him smile… that Rukia had finally found the man she was looking for… that wasn't bothering him either… it was something to do with that… but not the entire thing.

Byakuya's involvement in his best friend's happiness… could be… but it still didn't seem to get at what he believed was missing… but he did have a few choice words for his captain… if he could say them and not get his ass kicked…

Byakuya… you're an idiot… you seem to think that Rukia is still the little girl she was when you first met her… Renji thought. But in a way she was… she still believed that beauty could come from struggles; that pain could create a future… and that anything sacrificed could be obtained again through hard work. The lieutenant looked up with a blink as he heard panting. A spiritual pressure that he hadn't sensed before was moving rather slowly towards him. He opened his eyes. The water before him was blood red, reflecting off the sky.

A figure stumbled towards him and he blinked as a girl, dressed in a ratty yukata, tripped and collapsed to the ground. His eyes opened wide and he ran over. "Are you alright?" He gently turned her over and suddenly sensed someone behind him.

"Hey! You! Back off from her… she's ours…" he heard a voice from behind him and he stood up, turning around.

"What's yours?" Renji stepped forward slightly and slid Zabemaru out of its sheath so the blade caught the blood red sunset.

"That girl behind you… so why don't you just hand her over before we take you down…" another man behind the first said.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" Renji tilted his head slightly, the sharp toothed grin he saved only for the beginning of a fight painted across his face.

"What does she matter to you?" Another said and the lieutenant easily grabbed Zabemaru and slid it out of its sheath.

"She doesn't… I just don't think creeps should be picking on someone that can't defend themselves… when you can deal with me…" he licked his lips.

"This guy's a shinigami… there's no way we can take him…" one of the others whispered. Renji stepped forward and suddenly the men turned tail and ran off, disappearing into the darkness.

He didn't know why he did what he did then. The lieutenant picked up the woman from the ground and jumped off over the buildings. He propelled himself towards the gate, practically flying over rooftops. He skimmed past the gate's guardian and jumped off towards his barrack.

He didn't know why… but for some reason… something told him to take her. It was like a little voice in the back of his head controlled his body and forced his hand. He gently laid her down on the futon on the floor and stared at her. Why did he do this?

He carefully dressed her open wounds on her arms and the long gash on her hip curving in towards the wiry dark blonde hair between her legs. It had been a long time since he had seen a woman completely naked. But it didn't phase him. He was just worried about not getting caught. He had suppressed his spiritual pressure down as far as it could go and snuck into the squad four barracks, asking Hanataro Yamada for a few supplies. He had acquiesced willingly and had given him everything he needed to dress a few open wounds.

Before hand, much to the red head's chagrin, he was forced to bathe her, scrubbing her body clean of the filth that had covered it. He had found himself looking at something entirely different from the person that he had seen before. Her shoulder length sandy blonde hair contrasted with the caramel tones of her skin. He had yet to see her eyes but he was sure they would be just as out of the ordinary as any other. He gently pulled her hips up, pulling one of his own gi down her body. It hit her mid thigh easily as he pulled his closed over her bandaged body. The long sleeves covered her fingers, hiding the neatly kept nails. He at least knew she tried to take care of herself.

"You are one strange girl…" he whispered under his breath and pulled the blanket of the futon over her and tucking it in around her shoulders. He pulled an extra blanket over himself and tucked himself in.

"Lieutenant Abarai!" He heard a sharp voice from behind him as he shut the door behind him. He slowly turned his head towards his captain who stood in the hallway. He straightened up and tilted his chin up, his left hand placed on his hilt as was standard.

"Captain…" he nodded his good morning and Byakuya walked over to him.

"Where were you all night last night?" Renji nearly hissed. Byakuya never answered a question unless he already knew the answer, it was an unwritten rule. That meant that Byakuya had learned about his sneaking around.

"I was out, sir…" he looked him in the eye. He could get around lying directly if he was vague.

"Why did you go to the squad four barracks?" He lifted and eyebrow and Renji almost twitched, but that would give him away.

"Because I had an injury…" he almost snorted and Byakuya frowned at him.

"May I see that injury?" Byakuya asked and Renji stuck out his hand. He had prepared for just such an occasion. A bandage was wrapped around a gash in his hand. He had cut it himself as a cover, it had been difficult as Byakuya would have noticed the way the cut was going to he had been forced to be extremely careful and cut it backwards. It had been extremely slow and painful but Renji found that it had worked after Byakuya put his hand down. "Did you run into a little trouble in the eightieth district Abarai?"

"As to be expected sir…" Renji tilted his chin up a little more and Byakuya nodded.

"Very well… go to breakfast…" Byakuya walked off and Renji relaxed, slumping his shoulders slightly with a heavy sigh. "Oh… and Renji…" the lieutenant straightened back up, "next time you cut yourself… don't do it with your own sword…" Renji cursed under his breath as his captain chuckled, walking off.

"Damn it… why does he always have to know everything…" Renji scratched the back of his head and walked off…

Boy what a weird week this was turning out to be…