Sweet Naivety

Chapter 3: Meeting Renji's Family

Chapter 3: Meeting Renji's Family

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The school day dragged by, but it was over soon enough. Renji had asked if I wanted to go to his house to do our homework together, and I had agreed. We chatted casually while we walked to his house... and when we got there I realized that he lived behind Urahara's Candy Shop and Catering Company. Apparently, Mr. Urahara was his guardian. And Renji had two younger siblings... Jinta and Ururu. He called out their names so that I would know who they were as he led me to his room.

"Oooh! Renji brought a girlfriend home!" Jinta teased him, making funny faces.

I blushed. Girlfriend?

Then Mr. Urahara popped up outta nowhere, right into my face. "Oh, my. There really is a girl here. You sure are a pretty one." He grinned at me as he shook my hand.

"Um, my name is Junamai Ukitake... it's nice to meet you, Mr. Urahara." I managed not to stutter.

"Well, hello, Miss Ukitake." He pressed his lips to my hand before flipping a fan out and covering his face.

"Jeez, Kisuke... lay off, will ya?" Renji grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from him. "Why don't you go see if Tessai needs help in the shop?"

Mr. Urahara sighed dejectedly. "I suppose I should..." And then he sent a mischievous wink in our direction. "Behave, you two."

Renji grumbled under his breath, pulling me into his room while Jinta made kissing noises behind us. Ururu just giggled. And I would have found it funny if I hadn't been an object of the teasing. When Jinta stood in the doorway singing "Renji and Juna sitting in a tree..." Renji was sure to slam the door in his face. And then we sat together on his bed, pulling out our books.

"Sorry about that." He grumbled as he situated himself beside me.

I giggled. "It's no problem. Your family is really cute."

"Tch." He rolled his eyes. "So do you have any siblings?"

I shook my head. "Nope. I'm an only child."

"So where'd you move here from?" He questioned casually.

I had been dreading this question... and I was lucky that no one had asked me, yet. I looked down at my book. "I came here from France."

His eyes widened as he looked at me. "Really? You moved here all the way from France?"

I bit my lip. "Yeah..." I mumbled.

"That's so cool." He leaned forward, getting closer to me. "So why did you decide to move?"

I was really uncomfortable with the subject, but I tried not to let him notice. "I came to Japan to live with my uncle."

"Oh, so you're parents are still in France?"

I hid the pained frown that tried to make its way onto my face. I guessed that you could say that... and that they'd never be leaving... "Yeah." I went ahead and went with it, just because it was easier than explaining everything.

He nodded, finally picking up on my mood. "How about we start on our homework?"

I smiled at him. "Sure."

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