Simple Like Tea
folder
Bleach › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
20
Views:
7,039
Reviews:
68
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Bleach › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
20
Views:
7,039
Reviews:
68
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Bleach, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Understandings - Part 2
Only OCs are mine.
Chapter 4 - Understandings Part II
Reiko stood stunned for almost a full ten seconds before snapping out of it and running after Renji. She hiked her yukata up to her knees and ran, knowing her o-jii-san would have had a fit if he had seen her like that, with her legs bare up to her knees and without a trace of dignity in her frightened face.
She was scared, and she was confused, and she was running stupidly after a twenty year old kid that was probably just a trouble maker and now she was getting involved in his mess. Except she saw him run into an alley with nothing but the fashion of the seventies and come back out with a sword. And his body had run out right after him. There were two of them, she reasoned, turning a corner and nearly falling over herself when a cat crossed her path. They were twins, the one with the sword and the one in the funny clothes. She had been subject to some sort of prank. Or maybe a ruse, to rob her shop.
She knew she should have run back and made sure the swordless twin wasn’t doing just that while she ran after his brother, but she couldn’t. One more turn and she found him, and he was fighting a figment of a nightmare. There was a large bloodstain on the street, and standing a small distance away, his back turned to her, Renji stood with his sword clenched in his hand. He faced the object of Reiko’s fear, a giant horned beast with a hole in its chest, now armless and she guessed it wasn’t always so.
“Howl, Zabimaru!” She tore her eyes away from the beast and watched as Renji’s sword transformed and he leapt into the air, slashing through the face of the creature. It cried out and disappeared into particles that divided until they were smaller than her eyes could see. Then Renji was looking at her, and there was accusation in his face.
“Renji-kun,” she started, but there were no words to complete the sentence. His sword flickered and returned to its normal state, and he sheathed it as he walked towards her in slow deliberate strides. She stood rooted to the spot, unaware that she was still clutching her yukata and that her legs stood bare. She was scared, she realized, scared he might hurt her, or worse, let one of those things hurt her.
“I told you to stay inside,” he husked, his voice cracking with rage. When he reached her his face broke into an expression of anguish. He gripped her arms in his hands and pulled her up to her toes to bring her to his eyelevel. “You can’t tell anyone about this!” he growled at her, and she gasped. “If you’re a threat to the secrecy of Soul Society, I’ll have to erase your memories of me, and I don’t want to do that! I need you to remember me, you understand? Say you understand!”
“I understand!” she cried out, and he released her arms. She didn’t understand, she didn’t understand at all, but the urgency with which he had spoken to her needed, demanded a response. She felt that if she had given any other response, it would have been the wrong one. Gingerly, she rubbed her arms where he had gripped her, and he looked ashamed.
“I’m sorry,” he cast his eyes around, as though unable to look in her face. That anguish that had been so clear on his face a mere moment ago was gone now, and in its place was grim shame. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“No, it’s fine,” her voice was a whisper and she realized suddenly that she was shaking. She loosened her grip on her yukata and tried to steady herself, clasping her hands in front of her in an attempt to stop them shaking.
His eyes raked over her, lingering on her hands and on her face. “I’ll take you home,” he said quietly, and Reiko nodded silently. As he turned to walk in the direction of the tea house, Reiko considered running away. But she couldn’t. She knew what it would likely do to him, running away now, and knew she didn’t want to hurt him. Hurting him would solve nothing, and even if she did run away, he knew where she lived, and knew she lived there alone. If he had truly wanted to hurt her, she didn’t stand a chance against that now.
When they neared the teashop, she saw that the swordless twin was inside. He ran out to meet them, his lips tight and thin as he looked from Renji to Reiko. Renji nodded minutely and started to step towards his twin, and then there was light, and they were stepping into each other, and Reiko knew she must have come unhinged. Then there was just one Renji, the one without the sword, but she knew somehow that this was the same Renji she had chased down the street and the same Renji that had gripped her before and the same Renji that she had served tea. She was certain of it somehow, but she hugged herself despite the certainty and started to cry.
“I don’t understand,” she said quietly, and in the sudden silence of the night, her voice sounded loud and strange to her ears. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”
Looking back on it later, she knew it was an awkward embrace when Renji stepped forward and hesitantly put his arms around her, but she also knew it was just what she needed.
TBC
AN/ I know this chapter is really really short, but I wanted to throw it up there before getting to work on the next part. I apologize for the shortness, I really do, but it's been hectic with the start of my classes this semester and I knew if I didn't get this out of the way it would be ages before I could come out with anything substantial enough to post. Part of me wants to take this in a direction that may or may not deviate from the challenge and essentially fail, but the story goes where it goes, ya know, we'll just have to see.
A belated warning: not only do I suck at writing fight scenes, I don't like writing them. I don't want to focus on big detailed synopses of fights, because they won't be the important thing in this story. I'm sorry if you were all hoping to get some big awesome killing scenes, and I hope that you'll continue to read even without them.
To my very generous reviewers, THANK YOU! ^^ I can't begin to describe how happy I am that you like it so far. I hope I won't disappoint with the upcoming chapters. Next chapter will revisit Byakuya <3 I promise. ^^
Chapter 4 - Understandings Part II
Reiko stood stunned for almost a full ten seconds before snapping out of it and running after Renji. She hiked her yukata up to her knees and ran, knowing her o-jii-san would have had a fit if he had seen her like that, with her legs bare up to her knees and without a trace of dignity in her frightened face.
She was scared, and she was confused, and she was running stupidly after a twenty year old kid that was probably just a trouble maker and now she was getting involved in his mess. Except she saw him run into an alley with nothing but the fashion of the seventies and come back out with a sword. And his body had run out right after him. There were two of them, she reasoned, turning a corner and nearly falling over herself when a cat crossed her path. They were twins, the one with the sword and the one in the funny clothes. She had been subject to some sort of prank. Or maybe a ruse, to rob her shop.
She knew she should have run back and made sure the swordless twin wasn’t doing just that while she ran after his brother, but she couldn’t. One more turn and she found him, and he was fighting a figment of a nightmare. There was a large bloodstain on the street, and standing a small distance away, his back turned to her, Renji stood with his sword clenched in his hand. He faced the object of Reiko’s fear, a giant horned beast with a hole in its chest, now armless and she guessed it wasn’t always so.
“Howl, Zabimaru!” She tore her eyes away from the beast and watched as Renji’s sword transformed and he leapt into the air, slashing through the face of the creature. It cried out and disappeared into particles that divided until they were smaller than her eyes could see. Then Renji was looking at her, and there was accusation in his face.
“Renji-kun,” she started, but there were no words to complete the sentence. His sword flickered and returned to its normal state, and he sheathed it as he walked towards her in slow deliberate strides. She stood rooted to the spot, unaware that she was still clutching her yukata and that her legs stood bare. She was scared, she realized, scared he might hurt her, or worse, let one of those things hurt her.
“I told you to stay inside,” he husked, his voice cracking with rage. When he reached her his face broke into an expression of anguish. He gripped her arms in his hands and pulled her up to her toes to bring her to his eyelevel. “You can’t tell anyone about this!” he growled at her, and she gasped. “If you’re a threat to the secrecy of Soul Society, I’ll have to erase your memories of me, and I don’t want to do that! I need you to remember me, you understand? Say you understand!”
“I understand!” she cried out, and he released her arms. She didn’t understand, she didn’t understand at all, but the urgency with which he had spoken to her needed, demanded a response. She felt that if she had given any other response, it would have been the wrong one. Gingerly, she rubbed her arms where he had gripped her, and he looked ashamed.
“I’m sorry,” he cast his eyes around, as though unable to look in her face. That anguish that had been so clear on his face a mere moment ago was gone now, and in its place was grim shame. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“No, it’s fine,” her voice was a whisper and she realized suddenly that she was shaking. She loosened her grip on her yukata and tried to steady herself, clasping her hands in front of her in an attempt to stop them shaking.
His eyes raked over her, lingering on her hands and on her face. “I’ll take you home,” he said quietly, and Reiko nodded silently. As he turned to walk in the direction of the tea house, Reiko considered running away. But she couldn’t. She knew what it would likely do to him, running away now, and knew she didn’t want to hurt him. Hurting him would solve nothing, and even if she did run away, he knew where she lived, and knew she lived there alone. If he had truly wanted to hurt her, she didn’t stand a chance against that now.
When they neared the teashop, she saw that the swordless twin was inside. He ran out to meet them, his lips tight and thin as he looked from Renji to Reiko. Renji nodded minutely and started to step towards his twin, and then there was light, and they were stepping into each other, and Reiko knew she must have come unhinged. Then there was just one Renji, the one without the sword, but she knew somehow that this was the same Renji she had chased down the street and the same Renji that had gripped her before and the same Renji that she had served tea. She was certain of it somehow, but she hugged herself despite the certainty and started to cry.
“I don’t understand,” she said quietly, and in the sudden silence of the night, her voice sounded loud and strange to her ears. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”
Looking back on it later, she knew it was an awkward embrace when Renji stepped forward and hesitantly put his arms around her, but she also knew it was just what she needed.
TBC
AN/ I know this chapter is really really short, but I wanted to throw it up there before getting to work on the next part. I apologize for the shortness, I really do, but it's been hectic with the start of my classes this semester and I knew if I didn't get this out of the way it would be ages before I could come out with anything substantial enough to post. Part of me wants to take this in a direction that may or may not deviate from the challenge and essentially fail, but the story goes where it goes, ya know, we'll just have to see.
A belated warning: not only do I suck at writing fight scenes, I don't like writing them. I don't want to focus on big detailed synopses of fights, because they won't be the important thing in this story. I'm sorry if you were all hoping to get some big awesome killing scenes, and I hope that you'll continue to read even without them.
To my very generous reviewers, THANK YOU! ^^ I can't begin to describe how happy I am that you like it so far. I hope I won't disappoint with the upcoming chapters. Next chapter will revisit Byakuya <3 I promise. ^^