Just a little drabble for a writing challenge initiated by Laekstrein. Because we're just that bored.

Summary: Some secrets are to kill for. Set pre-series, with Renji and Rukia as kids in the Rukon.

Secrets

As he lies on the rooftop, hands behind his head to act as a pillow, Renji watches the lights overhead blink in and out of his vision. Set against a dark backdrop, those little beads of light wink down at Renji as if they're hiding an age-old secret, as if wanting him to reach out and plead to attain such knowledge.

But of course, Renji isn't an idiot. He knows that those little lights – whatever they're called – are just mere decorations belonging to the night sky. Just so that the darkness won't look so intimidating, to grant residents of the Rukon some comfort, as well as hope, in the eleventh hour.

"D'you know what they are?"

Her soft voice reaches his ears, and he looks up to find her eyes fixated upon him. Her dark, dark eyes resemble wide pits of oblivion; Renji bets that no one would be able to climb out upon falling into those black orbs.

"What?"

"Those," she points up at the little blinking beads of light, the tip of her index finger tracing a pattern in the air. "They're what people call 'stars'."

"'Stars'?" Renji quirks an eyebrow in puzzlement. "Why 'stars'? Sounds a lot like 'scars'."

"It does, doesn't it?" Her voice is soft as he rests her chin on her forearms, reverberating with a sense of pain that Renji manages to catch. He sits up, places a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Rukia…"

"Mm?"

"Something wrong?"

She looks up at him and flashes a smile, a jovial one that sends Renji's pulse racing. "Nothing's wrong," she quips, laying her hand on his. "At least, nothing's wrong when you're here."

Renji swallows, quickly retracting his hand, and turns his face towards the sky. But he can't keep himself away, and after a moment or so, when he feels the heat that has risen to his cheeks start fading away, he turns back to her.

And he's held fast by her eyes – dark, bottomless pits.

Now they hold secrets Renji would kill to find out.