Dragon's Fang (Renji Abarai x OC)

¢нαρтєя 1

"Hotaru, are you gonna give me the silent treatment forever?" Renji asked, following along behind her as she made her rounds the next day. She briefly glared at him over her shoulder before ignoring him again. Renji chuckled and sped up so he could walk in front of her. Hotaru set her gaze on the ground to continue on in her attempts to take no notice of him.

"You can't keep this up forever, I know you too well" he said, blocking her path. She bumped into him, although his sheer size made him an immovable wall compared to her. She glared up at him.

"Abarai, may I please pass?" she said dully. Renji looked rather surprised at her formality, but moved aside to let her by.

"Arigato" she said and took a few steps.

"Hotaru?" Renji asked, wondering why she had stopped now that she was past him.

"Why do you need me to talk to you?" she asked, looking at him sideways. Renji once again looked surprised, and he characteristically scratched the back of his neck in confusion.

"Whaddya mean?" he asked, and Hotaru crossed her arms over her chest.

"I mean there are other people you could be harassing right now, so why are you following me around? The big Fukutaichou has far more important things he could be doing" she said bitterly, now letting her upset over Rukia's execution bring out her jealousy of Renji's position over hers. Renji rolled his eyes and crossed his arms defiantly.

"Don't go startin' that again" he complained, and Hotaru frowned.

"Go away Fukutaichou, you're annoying Fukutaichou, go kiss up to Kuchiki Taichou some more, Fukutaichou" Hotaru teased, almost enjoying the way it pissed Renji off.

"First Rukia makes fun of me, now you? What's the big idea?" Renji shouted, clenching his right hand into a fist. Hotaru raised an eyebrow at the reaction and continued to walk past him.

"Your buttons are just as easy to push as Rukia said they were" she called over her shoulder, smiling rather wickedly.

"Come back here and say that to my face!" Renji called as she broke into a run.

"INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS IN THE COURT OF PURE SOULS!"

The announcement over the loud speaker caused Hotaru to come to a skidding halt. She let it finish playing before turning back to find Renji. When she looked back, however, he was gone. It didn't take much thought to figure out where he was. Hotaru broke into a run and came to a stop in front of the Captain's quarters.

After waiting around for what felt like several minutes, the doors slid open and the Captain and Vice-Captain emerged. Without one word or even acknowledgement of Hotaru's presence, the two continued on in silence towards the prison building.

Hotaru held herself back, sure that it was yet another thing she was unable to witness. She returned to her rounds for a few moments, but her curiosity got the best of her. She arrived at the prison building just in time to see Renji leaving.

"Renji?" she called to him, and although he flinched slightly in surprise, he made no move to turn and see her. She ran the short distance towards him and tapped him on the shoulder. Once again, his body involuntarily reacted, but he continued on.

"Renji, stop ignoring me!" Hotaru demanded, following along behind Renji closely. Renji kept rolling his eyes and moving along without paying her much notice. Hotaru frowned and stomped her foot.

"RENJI!" she screeched, getting the attention of the majority of the Shinigami around them. Renji stopped and turned to face her.

"For the last time, it's Abarai Fukutaichou, not Renji. Second, would you be quiet? People are starin'!" he demanded in a hushed but stern voice. Hotaru looked at him sadly and Renji sighed. "Alright, whaddya want?" he asked, standing up straight and crossing his arms.

"I wanted to apologize for making fun of you and also ask you what the heck is going on" she said. Renji looked confused.

"Huh?" he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"The announcement! The intruders? Doesn't any of that ring a bell?" she asked, looking at him oddly. Renji shrugged.

"It's nothin'. Some ryoka entered through the Senkai gates, but they were stopped from getting into Sereitei. Calm down" he ordered, brushing past her. Hotaru fell into step beside him.

"Kinda weird, though, huh?" she asked.

"Hmm? What's weird?"

"Rukia comes back and is put on death row and now there is a break in to Soul Society? It all seems so bizarre, and possibly connected somehow" she wondered aloud.

"That's crazy talk. We need a little action around here anyways, usually we're all bored as hell, waitin' to go on assignment in the living world"

"I suppose...so where are you headed?" Hotaru asked lazily, grabbing a hold of his arm and leaning on his shoulder.

"Y'know this doesn't look very professional" Renji said, his eyes shifting around to look for anyone who might spot them.

"Oh pish-posh" Hotaru said, although she let go of him anyways. "Are you gonna answer my question now?"

"I'm headed over to see Rukia one last time" he said sadly, and Hotaru stopped dead in her tracks.

"One last time?" she gasped. "But, I thought-"

"She's being moved to the Shrine of Penitence, cell four-deep. I'm supposed to lead the procession tomorrow. Actually, there's more..."Renji trailed off, staring at the ground. Hotaru frowned and reached out a hand to hold his arm once more.

"Renji, what is it?" she asked, and shook him lightly until he looked up.

"Rukia's sentence was moved up, 14 days from now. They're gonna use the Soukyoku" he said, and Hotaru exhaled sharply.

"Every single time we hear news about her, it's just gets worse and worse" she said, trying her best to hold in her outrage.

"Yeah" Renji said, looking a little surprised.

"What's with the funny expression?" she asked, and Renji looked away.

"I'm just surprised you're not blaming me for this" he admitted, and Hotaru slapped him on the arm hard.

"Idiot, I never blamed you for anything" she said. "You were just stupid and insensitive, but you didn't cause any of this" she explained. "I'm sorry you thought that way"

"Uh, don't worry about it" he said. "You wanna come with?" he asked, starting to walk again. Hotaru sighed and nodded, following along next to him.