Dragon's Fang (Renji Abarai x OC)

¢нαρтєя 9 (fℓαѕнвα¢к)

"Hotaru-san!" Hotaru heard a name call and looked up from her book to see Rukia running towards her.

"Ah, good morning Rukia-san" she said brightly, closing her book and letting it rest in her lap. Before Rukia could say anything else, a rather annoyed looking boy with long red hair came into view behind her.

"Hey, I wasn't done talking" he said to Rukia without paying Hotaru much mind, and Rukia laughed rather loudly at him.

"Don't be weird, Renji, you were training with your new friends anyways, I wanted to say hi to Hotaru" she said, and Renji quirked an eyebrow.

"Who?" he said, and Hotaru let out a small cough. He jumped slightly before looking down at the ground beside him.

"Uh, hi" Hotaru said timidly, giving him a small wave. She wasn't usually a shy person, but this guy was rather intimidating.

"Oh, uh...hi" he said, and watched as Rukia sat down next to Hotaru against the tree.

"Hotaru is in my class, although she should be in the advanced class. She's really good at physical combat and at kidou" Rukia explained, picking up the book from Hotaru's lap. "No wonder, you read the textbook in your free time"

Hotaru snatched the book back and stowed it away in her bag, blushing a bit out of embarrassment. "She's exaggerating, and it's just because I'm behind as it is"

"If you're so great, then you probably wouldn't mind showing off" she heard and looked up at Renji standing proudly with his hands on his hips.

"Really, there's nothing to show off, I'm in the second class for a reason" she said, and Rukia scoffed.

"Yeah, but the reason is because –" she started, but Hotaru interrupted.

"Is still a reason, and that's that" she said, giving Rukia an expression that told her to stop talking about it, then Hotaru looked up at Renji. "So you see? I'm where I belong, as is everyone here" she said with a smile and Renji squinted at her briefly, as if trying to figure something out. Eventually he must have decided he had done so or he didn't care to.

"Alright, well I need to get back to my training then. See you later, Rukia. And uh, nice to meet you" he said oddly, nodding his head sharply before rushing back to a group of friends several yards away. Hotaru watched him go for a moment, then turned back to Rukia, who looked rather confused.

"I don't get it, why didn't you tell him? Renji needs to get his ego checked sometimes, not added to" she said, leaning back more comfortably against the tree.

"There's nothing to tell, and if I did tell him, then I would definitely have to fight him. I just met him and even I could see that"

"I suppose you're right" Rukia said. "Although if I was held back from the advanced class because my family didn't want my abilities known, I think I would tell everyone just to spite them"

"C'mon, no you wouldn't" Hotaru said skeptically. Rukia grinned.

"I guess not, but it's still cool. Besides, Renji is a good person, he wouldn't go telling everyone if he knew you really didn't want him to"

"That's good to know"

"I still can't believe that. You could be top of the advanced class, probably even graduate within a year, but your family won't let you. I think that's pretty cruel of them"

"But they're my family, and I have to respect their wishes" Hotaru said, looking up a fraction of a second before the school sounded out that class was starting. Hotaru stood and picked up her bag.

"How do you always know?" Rukia asked, able to see every time how Hotaru could tell when it was time to go, despite having a watch or similar device on her.

"I just do, now come on. We're going to be late" Hotaru said with a smile as Rukia fell into step beside her. A short ways away, she caught the gaze of Renji walking into the building with his friends. Smiling brightly at him, she couldn't help but feel slightly insecure as he responded with a frown.