Gender Bender Chapter 4
Chapter 3
Thus far, I have been showing things from Ichigo's point of view, which is basically traumatized. I thought everyone might want to know how Renji is handling all this strangeness. Hope you enjoy learning what else is going on.
-//-
Getting ready for school was strange, then again, it had always been strange for Renji. Human clothes fit so tightly, and there were rarely any clothes that were built for someone over six feet tall. The shinigami vice-captain felt like a giant in a too small world. The only comforting person in that regard was Sado-kun. That man probably felt like a giant all the time.
Then all of this happened, and it only made Renji's awkwardness worse. As a man, Renji was completely ignorant of the human world, and this transformation did not help at all.
She was still too tall, clothes still didn't fit her properly, her hair was too bright, her tattoos were too strange. She never fit anywhere here. Admittedly, she stood out in Soul Society as well, she had never fooled herself into thinking that she was in any way normal, but people accepted her there. When you heard whispers in Seireitei about Abarai Renji, it was usually the squad talking about something that had happened, not about how their fukutaichou looked.
That was all humans seemed to care about, was how different someone was. She knew Ichigo had been picked on from an early age because of that bright orange hair, and Orihime-san as well. Humans were such a judgmental group.
She smoothed the skirt over her long legs, looking up into the mirror. It was odd to see such a feminine face there when she was used to seeing such a hard one. Mostly she just tried to laugh it off, but it was a jolt to see herself this way. Ichigo still looked like, well, Ichigo. Ichigo had always been long and lean, with a smoother face and wide, deep eyes. Male or female, Kurosaki Ichigo didn't look that different.
Abarai Renji couldn't look more different.
Renji's features were masculine, very much so. His face had been angular and sharp. Now, her face was softer, still angular, but all that masculinity was gone. Her body too, was soft now. As a man, she'd been pround of her body, of being hard, being scarred. It proved that she'd worked hard as a shinigami. Now, her skin was soft and her body was soft. It felt so wrong.
She sighed and stepped out into the hallway, heading towards Ichigo's room. Ichigo was not taking it as well as she was, she knew that. She knew the younger shinigami couldn't handle the emotional strain. That's why she'd been forced to speak to Urahara the night before...
-//-
"Ah, Abarai-kun. A moment please?"
"Hm? What's the matter, Urahara-san?"
The blonde ex-captain had sighed, pulling off his hat and looking Renji dead in the eye. "I said it would take two weeks to make a cure. That a cure. Only one. It'll take another two weeks to make a second."
Renji's eyes had widened, her chest felt tight. "Cure Ichigo first. I can wait. Ichigo can't handle it."
"You are sure?"
"Yes."
-//-
That was when she'd headed over to Ichigo's room. She was planning on telling her about what Urahara had said. But seeing that lonely form under the blanket... She couldn't bring herself to say anything about it.
Self sacrificing as Ichigo was, the stupid kid would no doubt insist that Renji be cured first. Well not this time. Renji was standing up and being the hero this time.
"Hey, Ichi. How're ya holdin' up?"
Talking to Ichigo, hearing the nervousness and worry in the youth's voice. It had broken something in Renji. She forgot how innocent Ichigo was. Sure, she teased her for being a virgin and being young. But she never really thought, after all they'd been through, of how vulnerable the other could be. Kissing her hadn't really been planned, it had just happened. it was instinctive, like so many other things that Renji did.
But it had felt right, and when had her instincts led her astray before?
She wanted to do it again, kiss the frown off Ichigo's face. It wasn't as if she'd never thought about it before. As a man, she'd wondered at Ichigo's reaction if she just grabbed her and kissed her, during a sparring session or something like that. She'd never thought Ichigo would kiss back, the most she'd expected was a blush and a punch in the face. But there she was, wrong. Wasn't the first time that had happened either.
Pulling herself back into the present, Renji looked at Ichigo's door and sighed. "Ichigo! We're gonna be late!"
"I-I'm not going!" Came a small voice from inside.
Another sighed from the redhead, "Weren't you the one who said ya can't miss more school?"
"Y-yeah..."
"So what's the problem?"
The door opened slightly, and there stood Ichigo, cute as a button in her school uniform. She tugged at the skirt, blushing violently, looking almost like she was going to cry.
"Ya look fine." Renji assured her. "So long as everyone thinks you're someone else, there's no reason to be embarrassed. "Saya" wouldn't be embarrassed wearing a girls' uniform."
"I know that!" Ichigo snapped. "I just... feel weird."
"Well I've never worn a skirt before either, but ya don't hear me complaining."
The orangette blushed deeper and growled under her breath. "F-fine. I'm coming..." she stepped out, lean legs set off in a pair of knee socks and ankle boots, and stormed down the hallway. Renji rolled her eyes and followed.
-//-
Their friends met them along the way, with Rukia and Orihime assuring Ichigo that everything would be fine. Renji knew everything would be fine. For some of them sooner than others...
"So is it really you in there, Renji?" Ikkaku asked, looking Renji's body up and down. Urahara had been forced to make Renji a completely new gigai, and Renji had just left her long hair down rather than her usual ponytail and headband.
"Yeah, it's me, Baldly." Renji answered slyly, watching in amusement as Ikkaku freaked out.
Yumichika was idly playing with a bit of Renji's hair. "I never noticed how beautiful your hair was, Renji-kun. You should wear it like this when you're a man again."
Renji scrunched up her nose in distaste. "It gets all tangled and shit. That's why I don't bother. I think I'll just stick with what I usually do with it."
Yumichika sighed dramatically at his advice being turned down, looking over at Ikkaku. Rangiku smacked Renji's shoulder.
"Don't talk like that! It's not ladylike!"
Renji scowled. "And I ain't a lady! I'll talk how I want!"
"And stop using "ore" when referring to yourself!**" Rangiku continued, ignoring Renji's protest. "Girls don't do that."
Renji scowled deeper. "Well, I'm a tomboy." she stated, glaring at Rangiku. "Now leave me alone! Go tell Ichigo this stuff."
"I did! And she blushed so cutely and said she'd try to remember." The big-breasted woman gushed, going on a tirade about Ichigo's cuteness. It was a relief when they finally reached the school.
-//-
They were introduced at the front of the class by the teacher, who seemed vaguely confused about why she kept getting random transfer students in her class, but couldn't be bothered to care that much.
"This is Kurosaki Saya, she's here to collect homework and notes for Ichigo-san while he's on a trip with his aunt and uncle."
Ichigo bowed and said a polite "nice to meet you" before fading back, still blushing, behind Renji.
"And this is Abarai Ren. She's new here. I expect you to show them both around and make them feel welcome."
Renji bowed too, but didn't say anything, and they were both shown to their seats.
-//-
Teenage boys were assholes. That was Renji's conclusion by they time they got to lunchtime. She'd been approached by no less than thirteen boys, and a couple girls too, all asking questions about her and Ichigo. Most of them could be scared off with a sharp glare, but the more persistent ones needed actual answers.
"Saya 'n' I have known each other for awhile, alright? Leave me alone!" she finally snapped, stomping off until she finally caught up with her friends.
Ichigo couldn't seem to escape, there was a group of boys following her around everywhere she went. Most embarrassing of all, her friend Keigo was hitting on her constantly.
"You're awfully cute, nee-chan! Are you sure you're Ichigo's cousin? You must come from the prettier side of the family!"
"Um, Asano-san?" Ichigo murmured, forcing a small smile. "I'm going to go eat with my friends, okay? Bye!"
She ran like a bat out of hell, anything to get away from the perverted clutches of her old friend. It was so entirely wrong to have Keigo hitting on her. It made her feel like her skin was crawling.
"Ew..." she groaned, sitting with her friends, looking very uncomfortable. "This is all just... not right."
-//-
The rest of the day was more embarrassment. More teenage boys pawing at their skirts, more curious kids asking awkward questions about their personal lives. By the end of they day they were exhausted and never wanted to hear another voice calling after them.
"Abarai-kun! Ichigo-kun!" Urahara called.
"SHUT UP! WE DON'T CARE! LEAVE US ALONE!" They shouted in unison, matching expressions of exasperation on their faces.
'Oh... well I leave you two to yourselves then..." The man was not stupid, he sneaked away into the shadows, closing the door behind him.
Renji was on her back on the floor, panting and looking devastated. "I hate humans..." she muttered.
Ichigo was on her hands and knees, not looking much better. "Me too.... Why don't we just go to Seireitei and never come back?"
Renji looked thoughtful, the idea was very tempting. "But then Kurosutchi-taichou will do experiments on us..."
"That might be okay... I think I could handle that..."
-//-
That night Ichigo settled into her room, looking worse for wear. It was hard for her to believe that she had to survive another day of school the next day.
"I'm not going this time..." she muttered. "No way..."
Renji stood in her doorway and sighed. "But we have to, right?" she murmured, looking just as worn out as Ichigo.
"Yeah..."
Another sigh and the redhead dragged herself over to Ichigo's futon. "Do ya mind if I sleep in here? My room is cold..."
Ichigo was too tired to protest. "Okay... I guess."
Sleeping in a heap on Ichigo's futon didn't seem strange at that point. They'd already kissed, hadn't they?They were alone, no one else understood the feelings of humiliation and discomfort. It felt nice to cling to the person that shared their pain, though they'd never admit they were clinging to anyone.
Girls slept together like this all the time, right?
-//-
I write far easier from Renji's point of view than Ichigo's... Oh well. I hope you liked this chapter.
** "Ore" is a way of saying "I" in Japanese. But its a very informal way that is considered almost impolite. Only boys use this way of referring to themselves, while girls usually use the more polite "Watashi". Anyone who's seen Ouran Highschool Host Club knows this difference.
Renji speaks rather gruffly, so I'll probably call attention to that later on. A girl would never speak the way Renji does normally.