The Differences Between You And Me
Title: The Differences Between You And Me
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Pairing: Renji/Tatsuki
Rating: PG
Spoilers (if applicable): Mentions of stuff in the Deicide arc in the manga, and this is set about six months after the arc we're in now.
Warnings (if applicable): None
Summary: Now it's her turn for some lessons.
Authors Notes: I decided to make this at least a trilogy, if not a quartet of fics. It might become longer but it won't be long enough for it's own community, so it'll stay here.
---
It wasn't until they'd had two months of lessons together that Tatsuki realized that she was looking forward to the lessons with him more than the lessons at the dojo that she got paid for. Something about him intrigued her. He was funny, too, which helped. And he had offered the day before to teach her how to use a sword, which was an offer she simply didn't want to refuse.
“This is a katana, obviously,” he said, handing her her sword. “I'd show you Zabimaru but I don't want to use it just yet.”
“Okay,” she said with a nod. “Am I holding it right?”
He looked at her closely, and then nodded. “Yeah, you've got the hang of holding it right.” He stepped up alongside her and put his hands over hers, lifting the sword's point up more. “That's better, though.”
She felt an unusual sensation run through her. Even with the practice they hadn't been this close. This was intimate, and it kind of disturbed her, but not in a bad way. Before she could react any other way, though, he moved aside and picked up his own sword from its stand.
“Okay, just watch what I do, and then try it yourself.” She nodded, and watched as he showed her the basics in handling a sword. She was a fast learner, and based on the grin on his face as she imitated him she knew she'd gotten most of what he'd intended for her to learn. After twenty minutes he had her run through it again, and then the grin widened. “Ichigo was right. You are a fast learner.”
“If it's interesting, I make sure I learn it as quickly as possible so I can get better at it.” She looked at him. “Can I set this down for a moment?”
He nodded. “Go ahead and put it in its stand.”
She stowed the sword away carefully and put her back against the wall, sliding down until she was sitting on the ground. He joined her, and she grinned at him. “Ichigo would never have made the offer to teach me this,” she said. “I mean, I know he's good, but...you're not so bad yourself.”
Renji scoffed slightly. “Yeah, him being good is an understatement. It took me years to learn shikai and then a few more years to learn bankai. He got as good as he was in the span of two years, I think. And it's better than most of our seasoned Captains.”
“Yeah, but he never shared. He never would have even thought that I'd like to learn this.” She tilted her head back and shut her eyes. “You're a good learner, too. If we were actually doing belted work I'd say you're a black belt now. I mean, you were good when we started, but you picked everything up really quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if you find your technique with your sword has improved because you've gotten better reflexes.”
“Next time I see Ichigo I'll have him put it to the test,” he said with a laugh.
“How old are you, anyway?” she asked.
He thought for a few moments. “About a hundred years old, give or take. I didn't keep track of my birthday growing up, so I'm not sure. It wasn't very important until I went into the academy.”
She stared at him. “But you look like you're twenty.”
He looked at her and laughed. “Well, I aged well. And over a long length of time. You know Hitsugaya?” She nodded. “He's sixty years old. I think. Somewhere around there.”
“I never realized time ran so differently over there,” she said in an awed voice.
“I have no clue how old someone like Urahara and Tessai and Yoruichi are. They were already looking that old when they got exiled from Soul Society. Same with the Vizard. You know, Shinji and Hiyori, all of them. They were all that old when they left, too, and that was about a hundred years ago.”
“You mean Urahara's been here for a hundred years?” she asked, her jaw dropping.
“Probably not here, but in the world of the living, yeah,” he said with a nod. “You'll be like that when you die, when you go there. You'll look a year older when it's been four years, or something like that.”
“I hope I die young, then,” she said, turning to look at him. She got a good look at the expression on his face. “Renji?”
“If I die I don't get to go back,” he said quietly. “I get reborn here, in your world.”
“Is it easy for you to die?” she asked.
He shook her head. “Hiyori got chopped in half and that didn't kill her. It's because we have healers like Captain Unohana. When I was a kid in the Rukongai, it was real easy for us to die. I lost a lot of friends before Rukia and I went into the academy. I lost all of them, actually.”
“I'm sorry,” she said quietly, reaching over to touch his knee gently. He looked down at her hand and she snatched it away. He looked away for a second and then back at her. “What?”
Instead of replying at first, he moved his hand over towards the one she had used to touch him, the one she had placed on the ground when she snatched it away, He hesitantly placed his hand on top of hers, and she turned her palm up and grasped it, squeezing gently. “Thanks,” he said, grinning at her. “I thought you'd pull it away again.”
She smiled at him. “Well, I only pulled it away because I wasn't sure if it was okay for me to touch you like that.” Her smile widened. “Guess it's okay now, huh?”
“Yeah, it is,” he said, his own grin widening.
She let go of his hand for a moment, catching the brief look of disappointment on his face before she used her hands to inch her way closer to him, still keeping her back against the wall. When their shoulders were touching she reached over and grabbed his hand again, pleased to see the smile creep back onto his face. “Ichigo would never let me hold his hand like this,” she said quietly.
“Then Ichigo's pretty stupid,” he replied.
Warm laughter bubbled up out of her. “Yeah, he can be really stupid sometimes. Just watch him and Ishida when they're arguing. It's hilarious.”
“I've seen it,” he said with a laugh of his own. “If you really want to see him look stupid, though, tell him Captain Kenpachi is looking for him. The look of terror on his face is hilarious.”
“Who's Captain Kenpachi?” she asked.
“Head of the 11th Division,” he replied. “He was the first Captain that Ichigo fought when he went to go save Rukia. It ended in a draw, and Captain Kenpachi's wanted a rematch ever since. And it would be interesting, too. Kenpachi's is strong, but...well, Ichigo's got shinigami and Hollow powers. He could probably wipe the floor with Kenpachi if he wanted to.” He thought for a moment, the smile fading a bit. “But he doesn't want to. All he wants to do is protect people. People like you and his family and his other friends. If he didn't have to fight anything more than everyday Hollows he'd probably be ecstatic.”
“Yeah, I think he would be, too. I remember what it was like when Orihime came back. He just seemed so...different. And it wasn't just losing his powers. He was weary. I'd say he was burned out.”
“He probably was. All the fighting he'd done, all the fighting in Hueco Mundo had only been days. And then he had come to the fake Karakura Town, and then the real one to stop Aizen. And it was all that fighting in one or two days, not to mention his training. His father said that all of the training he did, it was like a day for every half hour that went by, or something like that. He went through months of training in less than a day. He looked exhausted when I saw him, when I watched Rukia say good-bye. But he had saved everyone, so I thought he'd be okay.”
She nodded. “I can see why you thought that. But he wasn't okay. We could all see it, all of us who knew he had powers. We never talked about it with him, but sometimes Orihime and I would talk, when we talked about what happened to her.” Anger began to build, and it wasn't until she felt a tug on her hand that she realized she had a death grip on his hand. She loosened it and gave him a small, sad smile. “I'm sorry. I just...I was supposed to protect her. It's what I did before she went to save Rukia. And I couldn't protect her from those monsters.”
“Ichigo felt the same need to protect her,” he said. “I heard from her what happened on the dome. All he could think about was protecting her.”
“Yeah, she told me about that,” she said. “I don't know if I could have done what she did, kept myself from falling apart completely. I honestly think I would have just lost it and not been able to bounce back from it.”
“You? Lose your cool like that?” he said with an amused grin. “Nah. You'd have been kicking Ichigo's ass, trying to get him to stop. And if it had been you up there, and he wanted to protect you, it would have worked. But that's 'cause you're different from Orihime. Tougher. Stronger. And less emotional, but in a good way.”
“Glad to know that's what you really think of me,” she said, the small sad smile brightening. “I would hate to think you thought less of me.”
“Well, I don't,” he said, looking at her intently.
She kept his gaze for almost a full minute before shutting her eyes and tilting her head slightly. “I think you're a good guy. You'll protect your friends and complete strangers. You're loyal, and you're honest, and you really care about people and things. Ichigo's a great guy and all, but he has this tendency to shut you out to keep you from getting hurt if he thinks you're not strong enough. You wouldn't do that, I don't think.”
“Glad to know you think that highly of me,” he said in a slightly more serious tone then he had used a few moments ago. She opened her eyes and looked intently at him. “If I try and kiss you, you aren't going to beat the crap out of me, are you?”
She smiled warmly at him. “No, I won't.”
“Good.” They both leaned in, and when she felt his lips touch hers gently fireworks went off inside her. She whimpered slightly, a very un-Tatsuki like thing to do, but he took it as a sign to deepen the kiss, which she very much liked. When he pulled away a moment later, she knew she had a satisfied grin on her face, based on the look on his face. “That was nice.”
“Kissed a lot of girls?” she asked, an amused glint in her eyes.
“Not many, and it wasn't that nice,” he replied.
She shifted slightly so she was facing him more. “Want to see if it's that good a second time?”
“Yeah, I would,” he said with a grin, leaning in again. Just before their lips touched the door was flung open and Renji was scowling at the person in the doorway, who giggled. Then the scowl disappeared. “Orihime.”
“Oh. Oh!” Tatsuki said, rushing to stand up. “Is it really time to go already?”
“Oh, Tatsuki-chan,” she said with a smile. “It is, but if you want some more time I can wait outside.”
Tatsuki began to open her mouth when she felt Renji stand up next to her. “Can you give me five minutes?” she asked.
“Sure!” Orihime said, giving them a little wave and shutting the door.
“That was embarrassing,” Tatsuki muttered.
“Could have been a lot worse,” he said with an amused grin.
“Yeah? How so?” she asked, planting her hands on her hips and tilting her head.
“We could have been undressed.”
She looked at him, and then began to laugh. She nodded. “That's true.”
He moved closer to her, took her hands off her hips and crowded her slightly so that her back was against the wall. “So, I thought we were going to try something again?” he said in a quiet voice.
“Oh, right,” she said, reaching up to touch his face. “Go ahead. Let's try it again.”
And with that, he leaned in and kissed her again. And this time...this time was just as good as the first time. And then she knew, without a doubt, that this was going to make things very interesting from here on out.
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Pairing: Renji/Tatsuki
Rating: PG
Spoilers (if applicable): Mentions of stuff in the Deicide arc in the manga, and this is set about six months after the arc we're in now.
Warnings (if applicable): None
Summary: Now it's her turn for some lessons.
Authors Notes: I decided to make this at least a trilogy, if not a quartet of fics. It might become longer but it won't be long enough for it's own community, so it'll stay here.
---
It wasn't until they'd had two months of lessons together that Tatsuki realized that she was looking forward to the lessons with him more than the lessons at the dojo that she got paid for. Something about him intrigued her. He was funny, too, which helped. And he had offered the day before to teach her how to use a sword, which was an offer she simply didn't want to refuse.
“This is a katana, obviously,” he said, handing her her sword. “I'd show you Zabimaru but I don't want to use it just yet.”
“Okay,” she said with a nod. “Am I holding it right?”
He looked at her closely, and then nodded. “Yeah, you've got the hang of holding it right.” He stepped up alongside her and put his hands over hers, lifting the sword's point up more. “That's better, though.”
She felt an unusual sensation run through her. Even with the practice they hadn't been this close. This was intimate, and it kind of disturbed her, but not in a bad way. Before she could react any other way, though, he moved aside and picked up his own sword from its stand.
“Okay, just watch what I do, and then try it yourself.” She nodded, and watched as he showed her the basics in handling a sword. She was a fast learner, and based on the grin on his face as she imitated him she knew she'd gotten most of what he'd intended for her to learn. After twenty minutes he had her run through it again, and then the grin widened. “Ichigo was right. You are a fast learner.”
“If it's interesting, I make sure I learn it as quickly as possible so I can get better at it.” She looked at him. “Can I set this down for a moment?”
He nodded. “Go ahead and put it in its stand.”
She stowed the sword away carefully and put her back against the wall, sliding down until she was sitting on the ground. He joined her, and she grinned at him. “Ichigo would never have made the offer to teach me this,” she said. “I mean, I know he's good, but...you're not so bad yourself.”
Renji scoffed slightly. “Yeah, him being good is an understatement. It took me years to learn shikai and then a few more years to learn bankai. He got as good as he was in the span of two years, I think. And it's better than most of our seasoned Captains.”
“Yeah, but he never shared. He never would have even thought that I'd like to learn this.” She tilted her head back and shut her eyes. “You're a good learner, too. If we were actually doing belted work I'd say you're a black belt now. I mean, you were good when we started, but you picked everything up really quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if you find your technique with your sword has improved because you've gotten better reflexes.”
“Next time I see Ichigo I'll have him put it to the test,” he said with a laugh.
“How old are you, anyway?” she asked.
He thought for a few moments. “About a hundred years old, give or take. I didn't keep track of my birthday growing up, so I'm not sure. It wasn't very important until I went into the academy.”
She stared at him. “But you look like you're twenty.”
He looked at her and laughed. “Well, I aged well. And over a long length of time. You know Hitsugaya?” She nodded. “He's sixty years old. I think. Somewhere around there.”
“I never realized time ran so differently over there,” she said in an awed voice.
“I have no clue how old someone like Urahara and Tessai and Yoruichi are. They were already looking that old when they got exiled from Soul Society. Same with the Vizard. You know, Shinji and Hiyori, all of them. They were all that old when they left, too, and that was about a hundred years ago.”
“You mean Urahara's been here for a hundred years?” she asked, her jaw dropping.
“Probably not here, but in the world of the living, yeah,” he said with a nod. “You'll be like that when you die, when you go there. You'll look a year older when it's been four years, or something like that.”
“I hope I die young, then,” she said, turning to look at him. She got a good look at the expression on his face. “Renji?”
“If I die I don't get to go back,” he said quietly. “I get reborn here, in your world.”
“Is it easy for you to die?” she asked.
He shook her head. “Hiyori got chopped in half and that didn't kill her. It's because we have healers like Captain Unohana. When I was a kid in the Rukongai, it was real easy for us to die. I lost a lot of friends before Rukia and I went into the academy. I lost all of them, actually.”
“I'm sorry,” she said quietly, reaching over to touch his knee gently. He looked down at her hand and she snatched it away. He looked away for a second and then back at her. “What?”
Instead of replying at first, he moved his hand over towards the one she had used to touch him, the one she had placed on the ground when she snatched it away, He hesitantly placed his hand on top of hers, and she turned her palm up and grasped it, squeezing gently. “Thanks,” he said, grinning at her. “I thought you'd pull it away again.”
She smiled at him. “Well, I only pulled it away because I wasn't sure if it was okay for me to touch you like that.” Her smile widened. “Guess it's okay now, huh?”
“Yeah, it is,” he said, his own grin widening.
She let go of his hand for a moment, catching the brief look of disappointment on his face before she used her hands to inch her way closer to him, still keeping her back against the wall. When their shoulders were touching she reached over and grabbed his hand again, pleased to see the smile creep back onto his face. “Ichigo would never let me hold his hand like this,” she said quietly.
“Then Ichigo's pretty stupid,” he replied.
Warm laughter bubbled up out of her. “Yeah, he can be really stupid sometimes. Just watch him and Ishida when they're arguing. It's hilarious.”
“I've seen it,” he said with a laugh of his own. “If you really want to see him look stupid, though, tell him Captain Kenpachi is looking for him. The look of terror on his face is hilarious.”
“Who's Captain Kenpachi?” she asked.
“Head of the 11th Division,” he replied. “He was the first Captain that Ichigo fought when he went to go save Rukia. It ended in a draw, and Captain Kenpachi's wanted a rematch ever since. And it would be interesting, too. Kenpachi's is strong, but...well, Ichigo's got shinigami and Hollow powers. He could probably wipe the floor with Kenpachi if he wanted to.” He thought for a moment, the smile fading a bit. “But he doesn't want to. All he wants to do is protect people. People like you and his family and his other friends. If he didn't have to fight anything more than everyday Hollows he'd probably be ecstatic.”
“Yeah, I think he would be, too. I remember what it was like when Orihime came back. He just seemed so...different. And it wasn't just losing his powers. He was weary. I'd say he was burned out.”
“He probably was. All the fighting he'd done, all the fighting in Hueco Mundo had only been days. And then he had come to the fake Karakura Town, and then the real one to stop Aizen. And it was all that fighting in one or two days, not to mention his training. His father said that all of the training he did, it was like a day for every half hour that went by, or something like that. He went through months of training in less than a day. He looked exhausted when I saw him, when I watched Rukia say good-bye. But he had saved everyone, so I thought he'd be okay.”
She nodded. “I can see why you thought that. But he wasn't okay. We could all see it, all of us who knew he had powers. We never talked about it with him, but sometimes Orihime and I would talk, when we talked about what happened to her.” Anger began to build, and it wasn't until she felt a tug on her hand that she realized she had a death grip on his hand. She loosened it and gave him a small, sad smile. “I'm sorry. I just...I was supposed to protect her. It's what I did before she went to save Rukia. And I couldn't protect her from those monsters.”
“Ichigo felt the same need to protect her,” he said. “I heard from her what happened on the dome. All he could think about was protecting her.”
“Yeah, she told me about that,” she said. “I don't know if I could have done what she did, kept myself from falling apart completely. I honestly think I would have just lost it and not been able to bounce back from it.”
“You? Lose your cool like that?” he said with an amused grin. “Nah. You'd have been kicking Ichigo's ass, trying to get him to stop. And if it had been you up there, and he wanted to protect you, it would have worked. But that's 'cause you're different from Orihime. Tougher. Stronger. And less emotional, but in a good way.”
“Glad to know that's what you really think of me,” she said, the small sad smile brightening. “I would hate to think you thought less of me.”
“Well, I don't,” he said, looking at her intently.
She kept his gaze for almost a full minute before shutting her eyes and tilting her head slightly. “I think you're a good guy. You'll protect your friends and complete strangers. You're loyal, and you're honest, and you really care about people and things. Ichigo's a great guy and all, but he has this tendency to shut you out to keep you from getting hurt if he thinks you're not strong enough. You wouldn't do that, I don't think.”
“Glad to know you think that highly of me,” he said in a slightly more serious tone then he had used a few moments ago. She opened her eyes and looked intently at him. “If I try and kiss you, you aren't going to beat the crap out of me, are you?”
She smiled warmly at him. “No, I won't.”
“Good.” They both leaned in, and when she felt his lips touch hers gently fireworks went off inside her. She whimpered slightly, a very un-Tatsuki like thing to do, but he took it as a sign to deepen the kiss, which she very much liked. When he pulled away a moment later, she knew she had a satisfied grin on her face, based on the look on his face. “That was nice.”
“Kissed a lot of girls?” she asked, an amused glint in her eyes.
“Not many, and it wasn't that nice,” he replied.
She shifted slightly so she was facing him more. “Want to see if it's that good a second time?”
“Yeah, I would,” he said with a grin, leaning in again. Just before their lips touched the door was flung open and Renji was scowling at the person in the doorway, who giggled. Then the scowl disappeared. “Orihime.”
“Oh. Oh!” Tatsuki said, rushing to stand up. “Is it really time to go already?”
“Oh, Tatsuki-chan,” she said with a smile. “It is, but if you want some more time I can wait outside.”
Tatsuki began to open her mouth when she felt Renji stand up next to her. “Can you give me five minutes?” she asked.
“Sure!” Orihime said, giving them a little wave and shutting the door.
“That was embarrassing,” Tatsuki muttered.
“Could have been a lot worse,” he said with an amused grin.
“Yeah? How so?” she asked, planting her hands on her hips and tilting her head.
“We could have been undressed.”
She looked at him, and then began to laugh. She nodded. “That's true.”
He moved closer to her, took her hands off her hips and crowded her slightly so that her back was against the wall. “So, I thought we were going to try something again?” he said in a quiet voice.
“Oh, right,” she said, reaching up to touch his face. “Go ahead. Let's try it again.”
And with that, he leaned in and kissed her again. And this time...this time was just as good as the first time. And then she knew, without a doubt, that this was going to make things very interesting from here on out.