Two Souls, One Story

Chapter 16

Rukia breathed in deeply, trying her best to get her anxiety under control. Ru-Ru was doing her best to coax her into a more level-headed state. She paced outside her brother's office and frowned. 'Ru-Ru, he's gonna die.' she thought, trying her best to not snicker at the very thought of her brother becoming flustered.

'Yeah I know, but you know, it's been 40 years... you've been dancing around the topic for so long now, you might as well just drop it and run,' Ru-Ru commented, the smirk audible.

"Okay!" She turned and flung her brother's office door open, surprising the man inside.

"Nii-chan!" She chirped. "I'm gonna have a boyfriend before dinner time!" She closed the door with a slam. She could hear her brother sputtering in the room and she shunpoed away before he could ask her what she was thinking.

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Rukia paced around in front of Renji's door. She could sense him in his small barracks room. He was probably wondering what she was doing outside at this current time of day. Especially since around this time, she was normally trying to get Kaien to do his paperwork at this time.

"What do you want Rukia?" Renji opened his door, staring down at the tiny raven with his arms crossed as he leaned against the door frame.

"Ah..." Her eyes glanced at his bare arms, then to his chest. He wasn't even wearing his shihakusho properly, the top was hanging around his hips. "Shouldn't you be embarrassed?" She teased. "Standing half naked in front of a noble girl."

Renji's face went beet red, matching his hair and he slammed his door shut. Rustling could be heard and he opened it again, now dressed properly. "Now what do you want, Rukia..." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Rukia took in a deep breath, going over the reenactment she and Kaien had practiced just so she could say the words bouncing around her head. "Renji..." She murmured, shuffling on her feet, her face red and eyes downcast.

Renji raised a tattooed brow and cocked his head to the side. "What? Spit it out already."

"Will you go on a date with me?!" She blurted out all at once, eyes squeezed shut, fists clenched tightly at her sides.

When he didn't respond, Rukia felt her heart flutter nervously. She peeked one eye open, and when she saw the look on his face her body relaxed and both her eyes opened. "Renji?"

He was gaping like a fish, eyes wide, face a scarlet red. "Wh-What did you just say?" He asked softly.

"I... I want to go on a date." She said, squaring her shoulders and tilting her chin up a bit. "With you."

"Uh-huuh..." He seemed as though his legs were about to give out. "Why?"

She blinked owlishly at him. Almost as though she had no answer to his question, really she did... but she didn't expect him to ask her that. "B-because... I like you." She said softly. Ru-Ru was squealing, as though she was watching her favorite scene from her favorite movie. It left Rukia's head reeling. She shook her head quickly. "Why else would I ask you out?"

"Right..." Renji said, his face was blank. He had no idea how he should react. His heart was racing as he turned his gaze down to the dark-haired girl. "Okay. Yeah." He nodded, "Where... Where did you have in mind?"

"Ummm." Rukia blanked. Her eyes wide. "Oh! Why don't we go on a picnic...?" She trailed off, her words trailing into a question. "Maybe tomorrow?"

"That... sounds nice actually," Renji muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "A date? So like... does that make me your b-boyfriend?"