His Heartbeat

Renji and Rukia waited for the right moment to interrupt her Captain. He was currently holding Hinako in a passionate embrace and didn’t seem to want to stop anytime soon. Renji cleared his throat. Nothing. The couple in the kitchen were too caught up with each other to notice anyone else in the room.

Hinako was drowning in a sea of passion. What had started as Jushiro’s mouth claiming hers, became so much more. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she moved her lips softly over Jushiro’s. When he slipped his tongue past her lips to mate with her tongue, she knew she would be willing to stay like this forever. His arms had tightened around her back and she felt her feet leave the ground. The kiss was all consuming.

The feeling of coming home once again washed over Jushiro. It wasn’t Hinako’s looks or anything superficial like that, that drew him to her. There was just something about her. He had wanted to find out if what he was feeling was real or imagined and he’d figured the best way was to kiss her. He’d soon realized that the feelings he had for Hinako were real and he didn’t think he’d be able to let her go.

Renji cleared his throat again, only twice as loud. Finally, the couple broke apart. A huge grin broke out across Renji’s face as he saw Hinako’s expression. She looked stunned and thoroughly kissed. Rukia whacked him on the back of his head.

“Ow!” He rubbed his head. “What the hell was that for?” He spun around and glared down at Rukia.

“Don’t you dare make any rude, nasty, or vulgar comments about this!” Rukia hissed at Renji. She grabbed the front of his shinigami robes, pulling him down to her level. “A kiss like that is special to a woman!”

Sheesh! Did Rukia think he was that big of an oaf? By the look on her face, he guessed she did. Kissing the tip of her nose, making her blush, Renji winked at Rukia before turning back to speak.

“Oi, Hinako.” He waited until he was sure he had her attention. He waited a while, seeing how she and Jushiro couldn’t take their eyes off each other. Hinako’s hands were on his chest again. Captain Ukitake mentioned to Renji this morning that Hinako seemed obsessed with listening to his heartbeat. Renji only shrugged his shoulders, saying that it must be something with Hinako. The other humans he’d met didn’t obsess about things like that.

“Rukia and I need to talk to you.” He turned and went back into the living room. Rukia waited in the doorway, smiling gently at Hinako. It would be nice if Jushiro and she fell in love but since Hinako was human and humans generally weren’t welcome in the Seireitei, Rukia didn’t hold out much hope for something like that.

Jushiro brushed Hinako’s hair behind her ears. His touch was like magic, setting her body aflame with such a small gesture. She leaned into his hands, taking a deep breath of his scent. Never again would she smell cherries or wood smoke, without thinking of Jushiro.

Hearing Rukia’s sigh, she gave Jushiro one last smile before leaving the kitchen. Rukia stood aside to let her pass through the doorway first and then followed her. Renji was sitting on one of the overstuffed chairs that Hinako and Satomi had found in a second hand store. Satomi had called it’s huge rose patterned upholstery, “old”; Hinako called it “shabby chic.” Sitting in the chair, Renji looked like he had fallen into a wild rose garden.

“I hate this chair.” Hinako rolled her eyes. Renji told her this every time he came over and had to sit in this chair. “It’s loud, the pattern’s too busy and it’s too squishy.” He pointed a finger at Hinako. “And don’t tell me the chair is just like me! I’m not squishy!” Puffing out his chest, he waggled his tattooed eyebrows at Rukia. “Right, babe?”

Hearing Hinako’s bright laughter, Rukia knew she’d made the right decision to bring Renji along. His strength and humor would be needed when they broke the news about the Hollow to Hinako. Rukia sat on the wide couch, her feet dangling. Now, this couch…she hated it.

When Satomi moved in with Hinako, the sisters had gone on a search for a couch that would be comfortable enough to one of them to sleep on. Hinako’s bedroom was tiny and there wasn’t enough room in it to put a second bed. They found the couch at the same second hand store where they had found the garish flowered chair. It was twice as wide as a regular couch and longer, too. Rukia had to admit it was comfortable, but she felt like a little kid sitting in it. Her feet barely reached over the edge of the seat. She probably looked no more than five years old when she was sitting down on it. She tucked her feet under her and waited for Renji to finish his story he was telling Hinako.

Clutching her side and begging Renji to stop making her laugh so hard, Hinako wiped the tears of laughter from under her eyes. She turned to look at Rukia and she saw that the shinigami had a worried look on her face. She tried to hide it by smiling quickly, but Hinako knew that they didn’t bring her into the living room just so Renji could tell her a funny story.

Rukia patted the seat next to her on the couch. Hinako sat down, looking at Rukia and Renji, anxiously. The mood in the room had shifted and tension filled the air. Hinako couldn’t relax. Her back was as stiff as if someone had inserted a metal rod in her spine and her shoulders were tight. She tried to relax into the soft sofa, but every time she tried to sit back against the cushions, she popped back up again.

Renji and Rukia stared at each other, each one waiting for the other to start explaining. With a deep sigh, Rukia turned to Hinako. She wanted to break this news as gently as possible. It wasn’t every day that a terrifying Hollow was stalking a loved one.

Rukia opened her mouth to break the news to Hinako and was shocked when something completely different popped out. “So, you and Captain Ukitake, huh?” Hinako blushed, Rukia blushed and Renji’s bark of laughter echoed throughout the small apartment.

“Way to be subtle, babe!”

Rukia stumbled for something to say. “I don’t know what made me say that!” She gave a half smile at Hinako. “I mean, I don’t have anything against you and Captain Ukitake getting together. In fact, I’ve always thought he was a very lonely man and it was a shame that he couldn’t find a wife.” Rukia twisted her fingers together, a sure sign that she was nervous. “Sheesh! Here I am, jumping to conclusions. You two have a few kisses and I have you married to Captain Ukitake.” She laughed, trailing off nervously.

“Well, I knew I loved you when I saw you wading in the river, holding that white flower.” Renji looked over at Rukia, a soft smile on his face. “Remember, Rukia? When we were kids?”

She sighed and nodded at Renji. They had been just children, without families, only relying on each other. It was almost sunset on that day. Renji was determined to catch a fish when the beautiful white flowers had come floating by on that sunlit river. She had tucked her skirt up and went wading in, wanting to hold something so beautiful. She’d never noticed Renji or the way he’d looked at her. But, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her.

The fading sunlight made her look even more beautiful than she already was. The sparkles on the river were reflected in her huge eyes, making them shine more than usual. It was at that moment, Renji swore to make something of himself. To make himself into the kind of man that Rukia would be proud to know. To love.

Could Renji be right? Could it take something so small, like seeing Rukia wading into a sunlit river, white flowers all around her, to make a person fall in love? Or was it something else, like a sound? A sound of a person’s heartbeat. Hinako was more confused than ever. There was no denying that she was affected by Jushiro’s kisses. But, was what she felt for Jushiro just lust or was is something more?

“Listen, Hinako.” Renji’s voice broke through her jumbled thoughts. “We didn’t need to talk to you alone so we could tell you how I fell in love with Rukia.” He scratched the back of his head, thinking of the best way to break this news to her. Beating around the bush was just going to cause Hinako a lot of confusion and panic, so it was probably best to just come right out and say it.

“I got some information last night, before I returned to Soul Society. I’m not going to go into all the details on how I found out or how I verified the information; let’s just say, it’s a very reliable source.” This was going to be harder than he’d thought. He looked at Rukia, his expression begging her to be the one to break this to her.

“We don’t know why yet, but there’s a Hollow after Satomi.” Rukia held Hinako’s hands in her tiny ones while she told her. Rukia’s heart dropped to her stomach as she watched all the color drain from Hinako’s face.

“W…why? Are you sure? Renji, tell me you’re wrong. This is just another joke, right? Did I do something to make you mad and now you’re getting back at me?” Hinako tore her hands from Rukia’s and covered her face. “Not Satomi…not my only sister.” Her voice was raw with unshed tears.

“Hinako, I would never do something like this to you, you know that.” Roughly, Hinako nodded. “ We don’t know why it’s after her, but one thing we do know. This isn’t just some random Hollow after just any human. For some reason, it’s been tracking Satomi for a few days now.”

“Is that strange for a Hollow?” Hinako wiped her eyes. “Ichigo told me that Hollows usually attack random people, not anyone specific.”

“They usually do, but for some reason, this Hollow is being very sneaky.” Rukia pulled out her cellphone. She flipped it open and pulled up the menu. “We usually can track them easily but for some reason, this one shows up and disappears just as quickly.” Rukia watched the small screen for a bit but she couldn’t find the Hollow. She closed the phone with a snap and put it back in the hidden pocket in her robes.

The three of them sat in silence until a knock at the door startled them. It wasn’t a loud knock and Hinako thought she knew who it might be. She uncurled her legs out from under her and went to the door. Peeping through the eye hole, it was who she’d guessed. Uryuu Ishida was at the door. Opening the door, she greeted the Quincy.

“Good afternoon, Miss Hinako.” Uryuu bowed to her, waiting for her to invite him in. Although Satomi and he had been dating for several months, Uryuu still seemed nervous around Hinako. “Is Satomi in?”

“Oi! Uryuu!” Renji waved from the overstuffed, flowered chair. Hinako was glad of the interruption. It gave her time to compose herself after hearing the devastating news. She held the door open wider, motioning for Uryuu to come in. He crossed the threshold and moved a few feet into the room, pushing his glasses up as he walked.

“Hello, Miss Rukia…Renji.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “I sensed shinigami spirit ribbons, three of them to be exact. I identified one of them as yours, Miss Rukia.” He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I figured the one of the other ribbons was yours, Renji. If I may ask, who does the third ribbon belong to?”

“It’s mine.” Jushiro had sensed the Quincy’s ribbon long before he had knocked at the door. He had left Satomi in the kitchen, waiting for Uryuu. Jushiro had told her he needed to speak to Hinako and went into the living room to greet the young man.

“Oh, hello Captain Ukitake. It’s very good to see you again.” Uryuu bowed deeply to the older man. He had come to know and respect Captain Ukitake during their time in Soul Society. Jushiro returned the bow.

Leaping from the chair, Renji sauntered over to Uryuu, putting his arm around the younger man. Grimacing, Uryuu tried moving away from the tall shinigami, but Renji held Uryuu’s shoulders tightly. Rukia took pity on him.

“Why don’t we go into the kitchen and leave Captain Ukitake alone with Hinako?” Rukia went into the kitchen, not looking behind her and therefor, didn’t see the confused look on Uryuu’s face.

Uryuu turned to Renji and muttered under his breath. “Why does Captain Ukitake want to be alone with Hinako?” He turned to look at Hinako, noting the faint blush on her cheeks.

Renji’s bark of laughter filled the tiny apartment. “Uryuu, buddy”, Uryuu glared at Renji when he’d referred to him as ‘buddy’, “Do I have a story for you!” He went into the kitchen, his arm still around Uryuu’s shoulders.

Jushiro watched as Hinako paced the small living room. His heart ached for her. He could only imagine the pain and frustration she must be going through. Satomi was the only close family member that Hinako had. Being so close to his five brothers and two sisters, he couldn’t even think of losing one of them. He pushed his long white bangs back from his face and walked over to Hinako.

Horrible thoughts were racing through Hinako’s head. Satomi, dead, killed by a terrifying Hollow. Satomi being abducted by the Hollow, never to be seen again. Her body trembled and she hugged her arms to her, trying to warm herself. It wasn’t cold in the room, but fear had her in it’s grasp, chilling her to her core.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see who it was. Jushiro had come up behind her so quietly, she was surprised to see him. Tears ran down her cheeks and her hands trembled as she brushed them away. She watched at Jushiro took off his haori with his Captain’s insignia on it and set it gently around her shoulders. She pushed her arms through the huge sleeves and hugged the warm garment close to her. It smelled just like him. She brought up the collar to her nose and breathed deeply.

Jushiro watched Hinako hug his Captain’s haori to herself. An unwanted thought flew through his mind. Hinako, wearing nothing but his Captain’s coat. A hint of leg peeking through and the collar slipping down her shoulder. He pushed the sensual thought from his mind, angry with himself. With a Hollow after her sister, this was all he could think about? Hinako with her ash blonde hair streaming down her back, face flushed with passion as she slowly walked toward him, his haori slipping off her gentle shoulders as he took her in his arms and claimed her mouth with his?

Pushing back his bangs, he let out a frustrated sigh. He really had to get a hold of himself. Hinako was still standing in front of him, her nose buried in his haori. His heart took a little leap as he thought of how right she looked wearing it. How right she would look with a black haired baby feeding at her breast, his haori over her, keeping her warm. Hinako, sleeping next to him, her head on his chest, letting the sound of his heartbeat lull her to sleep.

Finally realizing that she still had her nose buried in Jushiro’s captain’s haori, she straightened up, a blush on her cheeks. She looked at him and seeing the gentle smile on his face, she broke. She could no longer hold herself together and she threw herself into Jushiro’s arms. He caught her easily, as if he had been expecting this from the moment he came into the room. Her tears wet the front of his shinigami robes as she wept. His large hand smoothed her hair as his other hand held her to him.

“What am I going to do if I lose her, Jushiro? She’s all I have.” Hinako’s voice was muffled against his clothes. “Our parents are still alive, but they’ve basically disowned us. My mother constantly tells me I should get married and she thinks Satomi is crazy for living with me. She wants Satomi back home, where she can keep an eye on her and watch her every move, questioning her every decision.” A little hiccup escaped Hinako. “And me.” Hinako hiccupped again. “She tells me I’m old, I’d better find a husband before I get too old to have kids and no one will want me.”

Pulling back from Jushiro’s body, wiping tears from her eyes, Hinako met his beautiful copper colored eyes. “Tell me you want me. Even if it’s a lie…tell me.” She whispered, making Jushiro’s body respond to her plea.

“I want you. It’s not a lie. God help me, I can’t get you out of my mind.” Jushiro captured her lush lips with his. Sucking her bottom lip into his mouth, he captured Hinako’s groan in his mouth. Deepening the kiss, his tongue mated with hers. Hinako’s hands flew from his waist to thread through his white hair. His hands cupped her bottom, bringing her flush against him, letting her feel his arousal. As soon as she begged him to tell her he wanted her, Jushiro’s body had responded.

Without breaking the kiss, Jushiro picked Hinako up and took her to the couch. He sat down, cuddling Hinako against his chest. She was sitting on his lap and he was holding her, like he would a child. Except, she was no child and Hinako wanted to be closer to him. She broke the kiss, and maneuvered on his lap until she was straddling his thighs. Pushing his top open, she let her hands roam all over his shoulders and his muscular chest. Her mind was screaming at her to stop. Satomi’s life was on the line and here she was, kissing Jushiro as if this was the last time they would see each other for all eternity. But, she couldn’t stop. She had never met someone who had made her feel this way. And she wanted more.

Jushiro tried to slow down, but Hinako was having none of it. She rubbed her tongue against his, oh so slowly. She pressed her breasts against Jushiro’s naked chest, making him shake with need. His hands gripped her thighs as he brought her closer to him. He broke the kiss, throwing his head back as he tried to hold back a groan. By bringing her closer, he had brought her center up against his arousal. She moved slowly over him, making him unconsciously thrust upwards. Her hands fisted in his hair and she brought his head to her throat.

Latching on to her throat with his mouth, Jushiro held Hinako’s body still. If she kept rubbing against him like that, he would drag her into the bedroom and make love to her right now. His mind was screaming at him to stop but once he tasted her warm skin, he was lost. Nipping her throat, Jushiro laved the little red marks his teeth had left behind with his tongue. His right hand slipped under her shirt and traveled upwards, making her gasp. His hand found her breast and he cupped it, dragging his thumb over her nipple, making it harden. She trembled in his arms.

Renji’s bark of laughter from the kitchen, broke the spell. Jushiro’s hand stilled on her breast and Hinako’s hands stilled in his hair. They were both breathing hard. Jushiro removed his hand and Hinako mourned the loss of his touch until she felt his arms surround her waist. She moved her hands from his hair, putting her head on his shoulder and letting her hands move between them. She placed the palms of her hands over his chest, feeling his racing heartbeat.

They stayed that way for awhile. Jushiro’s heart slowed to a steady, normal beat. Could love really happen this fast? He had just met Hinako last night. Rukia had known Hinako for several years now and it was obvious Renji knew Hinako about the same length of time. Although, he was Rukia’s captain, the two never talked much about their personal lives. He wished he would have met Hinako under better circumstances, but he was glad that he had met her. She was quickly becoming precious to him.