Archive 'Fic: Sister Complex (IchiRuki theme 78, sister complex)
My inability to title 'fic has been clearly shown from the beginning, ne?
"Oi."
"Mm?"
"How long has it been?"
She let out an exasperated sound and checked her internal clock. "About twenty minutes," she said. Her glance sliced sideways. "Two more minutes since last time you asked."
He ignored that statement. "Isn't that a long time?"
"I don't know. Is it?"
He gave her a dark look. "What does that mean?"
She shrugged a little. "I've never done this before, so how would I know how long it's supposed to take?"
"So you're not worried?"
"Should I be?"
He scowled. "Now you're just being annoying."
Her face remained serene. "Not as bad as someone who asks the time every few minutes."
He growled to himself, and faced the doors again. He was pretty sure he'd memorized every knot, every swirl in the wood grain. "Why did I do this again," he gritted to himself.
"Because it's proper," she said. "And..." She smiled, a little smile that always made him wonder what she could be thinking. "Because he already said he would, and you wanted to see what would happen."
"Damn him," he said, but there was more affection than anger in his voice. "I expected more explosions by now."
Her smile quirked a little in annoyance, but then she looked at the doors, too. "It has been...quiet," she said.
"Ha! I knew it!" he exclaimed, a sharp smile cutting across his face.
"Knew what?" she asked, annoyed.
"That you were worried!"
She grimaced, but didn't meet his eyes. "I never said that," she said.
He smirked. "You didn't need to, Rukia. I can see it in that expression on your face."
She gave him a look that expressed, succinctly, how many bruises he would have later. His smirk widened in the face of it. "See? What did I tell you."
She rolled her eyes, then faced forward again. There was a moment when her features slid from annoyance to calm, and in the center of that moment was her true expression. Once he saw it, all urge to gloat vanished. He, too, faced front, and they sat in silence for a moment.
"He'll be fine," he finally said.
She made a non-committal noise.
"I mean, he's beaten Captain Byakuya before. Even if he is in there telling him off."
The words slipped past his lips without thought, and it was only a moment later that he realized what exactly he had said.
Mostly because he could feel the heat of Rukia's gaze burning a hole into his head.
"Telling him off?" she said, voice quiet.
People generally thought of Rukia as a screamer, mostly because when she decided to yell at you, she did it without holding back. Even her noble training had not quite erased that from her. But when she asked questions quietly, like this, it was just as dangerous.
He swallowed, oddly nervous. "You...you didn't realize?" he said, not looking at her.
"No," she said, and her voice was clipped.
He looked at her, not quite believing it. She met his eyes, anger and not a little confusion in hers. He wondered how they'd even got to this point if she was so dense. "What?" she asked, voice rising dangerously.
He shook his head. "He tried to kill you, Rukia," he said, and he couldn't quite hide the amazement in his voice.
Her eyes blazed. "Niisama saved my life," she said, voice stiff.
Renji met her eyes for a moment, then looked away. "Once," he said, voice soft.
"Renji." The word came out much softer than he expected it to.
He raised his head, eyes on the wooden door in front of him, but looking beyond it as well. "I trained for years, simply for the purpose of kicking your brother's ass," he said. "I still look forward to the day when it will be possible."
"Renji!" Her voice was sharper now.
He shrugged. She may not want to hear it, but it was true. "Ichigo...when he came to Soul Society to save you, he wanted to face your brother more than anything. He wanted to beat him."
"Because Niisama beat him before."
He looked over at her, mouth quirked in a way that was almost a smile. "Do you think that's the only reason, Rukia?"
Her mouth opened as if to say something, then closed. She looked away, thinking about how Ichigo had asked after her brother everytime she had returned. Every time, it had been the last thing he had asked of her. Every time, there had been something else lurking behind the words, lurking behind his eyes.
Renji watched as the emotions slid over her face, as comprehension dawned. Then, to his surprise, she smiled, and murmured something to herself.
"What?"
The smile didn't fade, and she said, voice a little louder, "Sister complex."
"Huh?"
She raised her head, but didn't look at him. "Ichigo...has a blood family. One he was born to. Two sisters, twins. It gives him certain views on things."
He itched to ask what the hell she was talking about, but the expression on her face stilled his words.
"One of our first missions was an obsessed spirit. An older brother bound to his sister." Her smile waned a little. "It acted like a Hollow acts towards its relatives--threatening and cruel. Nothing out of the ordinary."
Her smile waxed again. "He scolded it. Told it there was a reason older brothers came first." She looked a little at him now, and the open emotion on her face made him swallow suddenly. "I'd never seen anyone do that before."
He said nothing, and she looked towards the doors once more. There was a moment of quiet, then she continued, "I never realized that he would see Niisama in the same way. That the relationship we had...would offend Ichigo's sensibilities." She shook her head. "Stupid, stupid boy."
Renji, as always, wondered how she could call someone an idiot with such affection. He studied her a moment longer, then looked towards the doors. "Yeah," he said. "He really is a moron."
"So are you." There was that affection again.
He stiffened, scowled. "Obviously, since I'm still sitting here, listening to you prattle."
She laughed once, quietly. "Obviously."
They were quiet. Then, she said, "Renji..."
"What?"
"Why did you agree to this?"
He knew, then, that she wasn't asking about his presence on this porch, and he scowled. "You still need to ask?"
She said nothing.
His face stilled, gentled. "Perhaps," he said, not looking at her, "I've got my own sister complex."
Whatever she would've said next was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming towards them. They immediately sat up straighter on their cushions, not knowing who would open the door.
It was Ichigo. His face was set in its usual cross look, though it softened a touch when Rukia looked up. He jerked a thumb back towards the room. "Renji."
Renji eased back up to his feet, and nodded at the man. Ichigo nodded back, and Renji slid past him into the house. Ichigo moved out onto the porch and dropped heavily onto the cushion.
They didn't say anything for a moment. Then, cautiously, she asked, "How is my brother?"
"An asshole," Ichigo replied, voice sharp.
"Oh," she said, still not looking at him. "Then he..."
"Agreed."
She blinked, then looked over at him, face questioning.
He returned her look with one that suggested she was crazy. "What's the look for? Shouldn't you be all 'yay, I'm so happy' or crying or somethin?" he huffed. "With all the crap I had to..."
She looked away, and down, and he immediately shut up. He watched her for a moment, noting how her hands trembled on her lap, the quiver in her eyes. "Oi," he said. "Rukia. What..."
She took an unsteady breath, cutting off his words. "Welcome, then," she said, voice quiet, "Kuchiki Ichigo."
He blanched. "You had to go and say THAT, didn't you?" he grumbled, looking away. He shuffled on his cushion, not entirely sure what to say next, especially since every time he looked over at her she seemed to be in a different world completely.
Finally he said, "How long has it been?"
And Rukia laughed.
Within the house, Byakuya's head came up sharply. "You, Abarai, also wish to join with my household?" he asked in that soft, cultured voice.
Inwardedly, Renji groaned, but his acceptance, when it came out, was a firm "yes."
1411 (it is amusing to find out all the word counts I have in my original file are wroooong)
All excited after posting my first 'fic and getting a decent reaction to it, I found a follow-up theme and planned to work on it.
This 'fic hit me while sitting in the local Village Inn (right around when episode 54 of the anime came out, because I seem to recall watching it in said Village Inn), and I founded my colored notebook in my bag, opened it, and started writing. That notebook is where most of my Bleach 'fic has its start (if not its ending); once over break, I pulled it out for Jen and flipped through it, going "story, story, part of story, later part of different story." She was impressed. I still write in it, and when I run out of paper in it, I am going to be very sad.
Anyways, this 'fic. Most of it was written in said VI, and it really is all dialogue based from the beginning, because a lot of this early 'fic was half writing exercise, half a story attempt. Renji's name came up much earlier in the first draft (and everytime I read this, I wait for it, and then think, "Right, I took it out"), as did Rukia's. I actually had issues with structure in this 'fic (I know, it's short, but I did), until I switched around the "Ichigo has family" and "Niisama beat his ass" sections." Also, looking through the original, Renji had a line about china patterns that I almost wish I'd kept. And also his "You are most definitely not his sister" line to Rukia. But so it goes in rewrites.
"Oi."
"Mm?"
"How long has it been?"
She let out an exasperated sound and checked her internal clock. "About twenty minutes," she said. Her glance sliced sideways. "Two more minutes since last time you asked."
He ignored that statement. "Isn't that a long time?"
"I don't know. Is it?"
He gave her a dark look. "What does that mean?"
She shrugged a little. "I've never done this before, so how would I know how long it's supposed to take?"
"So you're not worried?"
"Should I be?"
He scowled. "Now you're just being annoying."
Her face remained serene. "Not as bad as someone who asks the time every few minutes."
He growled to himself, and faced the doors again. He was pretty sure he'd memorized every knot, every swirl in the wood grain. "Why did I do this again," he gritted to himself.
"Because it's proper," she said. "And..." She smiled, a little smile that always made him wonder what she could be thinking. "Because he already said he would, and you wanted to see what would happen."
"Damn him," he said, but there was more affection than anger in his voice. "I expected more explosions by now."
Her smile quirked a little in annoyance, but then she looked at the doors, too. "It has been...quiet," she said.
"Ha! I knew it!" he exclaimed, a sharp smile cutting across his face.
"Knew what?" she asked, annoyed.
"That you were worried!"
She grimaced, but didn't meet his eyes. "I never said that," she said.
He smirked. "You didn't need to, Rukia. I can see it in that expression on your face."
She gave him a look that expressed, succinctly, how many bruises he would have later. His smirk widened in the face of it. "See? What did I tell you."
She rolled her eyes, then faced forward again. There was a moment when her features slid from annoyance to calm, and in the center of that moment was her true expression. Once he saw it, all urge to gloat vanished. He, too, faced front, and they sat in silence for a moment.
"He'll be fine," he finally said.
She made a non-committal noise.
"I mean, he's beaten Captain Byakuya before. Even if he is in there telling him off."
The words slipped past his lips without thought, and it was only a moment later that he realized what exactly he had said.
Mostly because he could feel the heat of Rukia's gaze burning a hole into his head.
"Telling him off?" she said, voice quiet.
People generally thought of Rukia as a screamer, mostly because when she decided to yell at you, she did it without holding back. Even her noble training had not quite erased that from her. But when she asked questions quietly, like this, it was just as dangerous.
He swallowed, oddly nervous. "You...you didn't realize?" he said, not looking at her.
"No," she said, and her voice was clipped.
He looked at her, not quite believing it. She met his eyes, anger and not a little confusion in hers. He wondered how they'd even got to this point if she was so dense. "What?" she asked, voice rising dangerously.
He shook his head. "He tried to kill you, Rukia," he said, and he couldn't quite hide the amazement in his voice.
Her eyes blazed. "Niisama saved my life," she said, voice stiff.
Renji met her eyes for a moment, then looked away. "Once," he said, voice soft.
"Renji." The word came out much softer than he expected it to.
He raised his head, eyes on the wooden door in front of him, but looking beyond it as well. "I trained for years, simply for the purpose of kicking your brother's ass," he said. "I still look forward to the day when it will be possible."
"Renji!" Her voice was sharper now.
He shrugged. She may not want to hear it, but it was true. "Ichigo...when he came to Soul Society to save you, he wanted to face your brother more than anything. He wanted to beat him."
"Because Niisama beat him before."
He looked over at her, mouth quirked in a way that was almost a smile. "Do you think that's the only reason, Rukia?"
Her mouth opened as if to say something, then closed. She looked away, thinking about how Ichigo had asked after her brother everytime she had returned. Every time, it had been the last thing he had asked of her. Every time, there had been something else lurking behind the words, lurking behind his eyes.
Renji watched as the emotions slid over her face, as comprehension dawned. Then, to his surprise, she smiled, and murmured something to herself.
"What?"
The smile didn't fade, and she said, voice a little louder, "Sister complex."
"Huh?"
She raised her head, but didn't look at him. "Ichigo...has a blood family. One he was born to. Two sisters, twins. It gives him certain views on things."
He itched to ask what the hell she was talking about, but the expression on her face stilled his words.
"One of our first missions was an obsessed spirit. An older brother bound to his sister." Her smile waned a little. "It acted like a Hollow acts towards its relatives--threatening and cruel. Nothing out of the ordinary."
Her smile waxed again. "He scolded it. Told it there was a reason older brothers came first." She looked a little at him now, and the open emotion on her face made him swallow suddenly. "I'd never seen anyone do that before."
He said nothing, and she looked towards the doors once more. There was a moment of quiet, then she continued, "I never realized that he would see Niisama in the same way. That the relationship we had...would offend Ichigo's sensibilities." She shook her head. "Stupid, stupid boy."
Renji, as always, wondered how she could call someone an idiot with such affection. He studied her a moment longer, then looked towards the doors. "Yeah," he said. "He really is a moron."
"So are you." There was that affection again.
He stiffened, scowled. "Obviously, since I'm still sitting here, listening to you prattle."
She laughed once, quietly. "Obviously."
They were quiet. Then, she said, "Renji..."
"What?"
"Why did you agree to this?"
He knew, then, that she wasn't asking about his presence on this porch, and he scowled. "You still need to ask?"
She said nothing.
His face stilled, gentled. "Perhaps," he said, not looking at her, "I've got my own sister complex."
Whatever she would've said next was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming towards them. They immediately sat up straighter on their cushions, not knowing who would open the door.
It was Ichigo. His face was set in its usual cross look, though it softened a touch when Rukia looked up. He jerked a thumb back towards the room. "Renji."
Renji eased back up to his feet, and nodded at the man. Ichigo nodded back, and Renji slid past him into the house. Ichigo moved out onto the porch and dropped heavily onto the cushion.
They didn't say anything for a moment. Then, cautiously, she asked, "How is my brother?"
"An asshole," Ichigo replied, voice sharp.
"Oh," she said, still not looking at him. "Then he..."
"Agreed."
She blinked, then looked over at him, face questioning.
He returned her look with one that suggested she was crazy. "What's the look for? Shouldn't you be all 'yay, I'm so happy' or crying or somethin?" he huffed. "With all the crap I had to..."
She looked away, and down, and he immediately shut up. He watched her for a moment, noting how her hands trembled on her lap, the quiver in her eyes. "Oi," he said. "Rukia. What..."
She took an unsteady breath, cutting off his words. "Welcome, then," she said, voice quiet, "Kuchiki Ichigo."
He blanched. "You had to go and say THAT, didn't you?" he grumbled, looking away. He shuffled on his cushion, not entirely sure what to say next, especially since every time he looked over at her she seemed to be in a different world completely.
Finally he said, "How long has it been?"
And Rukia laughed.
Within the house, Byakuya's head came up sharply. "You, Abarai, also wish to join with my household?" he asked in that soft, cultured voice.
Inwardedly, Renji groaned, but his acceptance, when it came out, was a firm "yes."
1411 (it is amusing to find out all the word counts I have in my original file are wroooong)
All excited after posting my first 'fic and getting a decent reaction to it, I found a follow-up theme and planned to work on it.
This 'fic hit me while sitting in the local Village Inn (right around when episode 54 of the anime came out, because I seem to recall watching it in said Village Inn), and I founded my colored notebook in my bag, opened it, and started writing. That notebook is where most of my Bleach 'fic has its start (if not its ending); once over break, I pulled it out for Jen and flipped through it, going "story, story, part of story, later part of different story." She was impressed. I still write in it, and when I run out of paper in it, I am going to be very sad.
Anyways, this 'fic. Most of it was written in said VI, and it really is all dialogue based from the beginning, because a lot of this early 'fic was half writing exercise, half a story attempt. Renji's name came up much earlier in the first draft (and everytime I read this, I wait for it, and then think, "Right, I took it out"), as did Rukia's. I actually had issues with structure in this 'fic (I know, it's short, but I did), until I switched around the "Ichigo has family" and "Niisama beat his ass" sections." Also, looking through the original, Renji had a line about china patterns that I almost wish I'd kept. And also his "You are most definitely not his sister" line to Rukia. But so it goes in rewrites.