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tampered2008-03-11 04:49 pm
wingstock.livejournal.com) wrote in tampered2008-03-11 04:49 pm
Log: Complete
When; Right after this thread, basically [yesterday]
Rating;PG-13, blame Renji, as usual
Characters; Abarai Renji and Kuchiki Rukiaand Chappy
Summary; Renji has been camping out...in Kuchiki Rukia's living room. Oh, but WHY, she wants to know.They always need to know why.
Log;
Renji wasn't the cute cuddly type, simply put. He was brash, loud, bullheaded, and perhaps at times, trigger happy. It wasn't in his nature to be overly gentle or slick with words and such. His words of concern came out either harsh, blunt, scary, or not at all, with no dial setting for 'alternative methods'.
...Which is why the rabbit in his lap was unusually uncomfortable. It was soft, cuddly, beloved, and quite content using him as a pillow and chewing on his freaking sash. All that meant was that he had no fucking clue what to do with the damn thing, other than eat it. But even he knew better than to try and eat someone's pet, especially when that someone was near him and had enough free shots to level even him. He eyed the thing, cheek resting against his fist, hoping the thing would leave his lap eventually.
...nope.
---
Chappy, not 'the thing' or 'that thing' or 'thing' as Renji seemed rather stuck referring to him as, was extremely cute, fluffy, and all rabbit. These things appealed to Rukia's specific but very easily tapped into sensory of all things cute and worthwhile...and by worthwhile she meant rabbit-related and belonging to her. It didn't make sense to her that Renji would not appreciate the wonders of Chappy, or the fact that Chappy, for whatever reason, had decided to give Renji the privilege of being his current pillow. That said, Renji's lack of fascination with Chappy was not really her primary concern, though it certainly ranked high. The main thing, the most obvious thing, was the fact that the redheaded friend of her childhood years had been in this apartment, her apartment for all reasonable respects, since the previous night.
He had, without much ceremony--with Renji there was little call for it--entered, and for lack of better phrasing, made camp.
Well, in any case he had made no indication of leaving, as far as she could interpret with him.
She was tempted to ask why he felt the need to sleep here, when well, fact was he lived next door, but then Chappy had taken a quick liking to him--perhaps he had liked him before--and this had distracted her until now.
Still, the distraction didn't keep her from eying Renji curiously as she sat on the couch, arms clasped round her knees, chin resting on top of them.
He seemed a bit more agitated than usual, even for having a rabbit on his lap, apparently unwanted. Well fine, was her thought. She was agitated too.
What business was it of his coming right in without a word of explanation?
But then, that was like him too, she admitted with a scowl in his general direction.
----
He could feel it, the scowling, pinched look, on his skin, and it made him shift a bit. He wasn't that stupid; Rukia wasn't going to be distracted for long and then would demand answers. Answers he didn't feel like answering, no matter what she'd do. The thing hopped a bit in his lap, sniffing at his robes as if he was a meal or something, paws on his chest before sticking his nose into the folds of his robes. An eyebrow twitched, but he didn't move to stop it. It was better then Rukia getting on his case, which meant a plethora of things. Bad enough that sick arse of an arrancar had flat out hinted at his interest, but the fact he couldn't do jackshit against the bastard back there, and hell, he wasn't getting any less rusty.
Sure, he fought against Momo and the others, but they weren't anywhere near the bastard's capabilities. Asking a captain was out of the question ... unless he pissed off Hitsugaya-taichou on a regular basis, but hell, he was fight-hungry, not downright suicidal. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted the look hadn't disappeared at all, if anything, it grew more intense. Things clicked in random places in his head, until his eyebrow twitched twice.
"What?" Was the only thing he had to say to tease the floodgates into opening.
---
She opened her mouth to tell him exactly 'what', which ranged from: you've been here overnight to it's nighttime again to you live next door and this is all very suspicious, don't think for an instant you're subtle Abarai Renji because you are definitely not......among other things.
But then Chappy started to make a go for Renji's hair and she ended up laughing instead, something she honestly didn't do enough, but really wasn't aware of anyway. The first thought that went hand-in-hand with that action was that Renji wouldn't like that. The second was that Renji could deal with it. Chappy was a priority, and if Renji knew what was good for him, he would have figured this out already. Hopefully. Covering her mouth with her hand briefly while her laughter petered out a bit, she sighed before fixing a furrowed brow at Renji's rather vexing 'what' and unfolding her legs to turn, hanging them off the couch, feet tapping the ground lightly.
"Don't pull him off too quickly or he'll take your braid with him," she warned in a very tut-tut way, but then shot him a knowing sideway glance that he ought to find familiar by now and added, "So Renji, finding Hitsugaya-taichou and Hinamori-fukutaichou impossible to live with suddenly?" This obviously wasn't the case but she prodded him with it as another way to ease them into what inevitably, would probably be something like a disagreement...with loud voices...which in some civilized places could be called arguing.
The odds were in that favor at least as she watched Chappy try to take part of Renji's sash and his hair....somehow. Clever rabbit, she thought and the look on her face went from perturbed to cute and childlike for a split second before returning to that of her more familiar look of: no nonsense.
---
'Friggen little... Fricka...SKIN THE FUCKING THING ALIVE' Renji was livid as he grabbed the blasted mutated rat and pulled it away, watching as it continued to munch on what hair it had and his dignity before it licked it's own lips and blinked as if he had done nothing wrong. Shaking it a bit, he dropped it back onto the couch, where the rat proceeded to climb back into his god damn lap and settle back in. He swore, cursed and went back to sulking, letting the thing do as it damned pleased, though is hair was now off limits. When it had settled back into molesting him in only ways a rabbit could, and only getting away because he was RUKIA's mutated rat thing, he avoided looking directly at Rukia.
"Nah, just needed some time away from 'em. Figure they have enough problems as is, especially not that Nemu's not livin' with us any more." Half-truth, but she didn't need to know if he could help it. "Plus you could use the company."
---
Part of her, the part she wasn't about to address, was moved by the certain part of Renji's statement that was more indicative of their longstanding friendship than most things---not many people really thought about Rukia in a way that might seem to appreciate company of any kind---and her eyes showed it, softening a bit, the color more of the blue than the black. But it was as such understanding is often, fleeting, and replaced with an amused smile, similar to a smirk as she reached out and smoothed Chappy's ears, petting him, while momentarily ignoring Renji's words while searching for her own. There was the option of beating it out of him. He would let her though and that would only make her angrier.
Was she angry?
Maybe a little. She had the distinct feeling that this was something more than about needing company. What it felt like really, she thought a little moodily, was being watched for safekeeping, for protection she could not perhaps provide for herself.
"Maybe," she said to the company comment and leaned forward so she could lean down and stare at Chappy on eye-level while scratching under his chin gently. "But that's not all. Is it?" she moved her gaze from Chappy up at the sulking being playing chair to her rabbit, her expression almost gentle, but closer to impassive, which anyone who knew Rukia at all could tell you could change from unreadable to rather unforgiving in an instant.
It depended on his answers of course.
She arched a brow at him in further silent question as if to ask him if he would give her any answers at all. Real ones, that is.
---
Head...hand...Rukia too close to... general lap area... place.... for comfort. He was a guy afterall, and nothing, not even thinking of... ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING DISTURBING IN THE WORLD, was going to make it any more comfortable. It wasn't like he was like the fairy: so flippin' gay that if he showed interest in a girl he'd let the rabbit eat his head bald, and he scowled, picking up the bunny and shoving it into the opening of a sleeve, like a pouch and leaned back. Better avoid that... yeah. Childhood friend or not, not a good idea for coochiecoos so close... Right. Whatever.
Answering wasn't going to be easy, not with that look on her face. The arched eyebrow and cold look meant he was on thin ice (pun fully intended), but what the hell was he supposed to say?!? 'Hey you fucking idiot, I'm here cause you were crazier then a bat on weed by messing around the gayer then sin, pink haired creep who makes allusions to leashes and pets?!?' Yeah, that'd go very well. He'd be eating city dirt faster then she could cast level ten spell at point blank. Grunting, he lifted his arm, the one not weighted down by what seemed to be a happy rodent, and scratched the side of his head. He needed to say something, but he couldn't tell her the damn truth, but she knew him too well and... ARGHFUCKINGDAMNITALLTOAPINKHELL. This was worse than when someone had given Yachiru sake AND sugar, in large amounts. Way worse.
He grunted again before muttering out, "Wanted to check up on you, that's all." A lame excuse, but better than nothing, right?
---
"Renji!"
Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head at the treatment of Chappy and she did the only thing Rukia would do in such a scenario. She made a grab for the sleeve, using one hand to grasp his wrist pulling his arm to one side, and the other to pull Chappy out of the sleeve. Stupid Renji. Really, this was a living creature, a very cute one, and he just...just...
Rukia set Chappy down on the floor to let him hop to explore other things he evidently found more interesting than being mercilessly stuffed in someone's sleeve. She didn't blame him.
Stupid Renji, she thought again, and fixed him with a glare reminiscent of the Academy days when they drove each other crazy on a relatively daily basis.
Well, maybe one of them drove the other crazy more than not, but that was all very detail oriented, and rather a long time ago, it seemed.
"Are you crazy? You could have hurt him!" she advanced on him, not pausing to slap his arm very hard, though nothing he probably wasn't expecting, to be fair. "You're not just checking up on me! Don't lie! You are a horrible liar and you know it!" That was true enough. Renji, all her life, she'd known him to be the straightforward one, to be honest if rather tactless in the process often enough.
"What? Did someone tell you to....'check up' on me?" she demanded. It wasn't wise to get rid of the buffer between them, Chappy having gone hopping to goodness knew what part of the apartment, otherwise empty at this time. She and Inoue and Arisawa had never really finished cementing living situations and so it remained as it had been since she first arrived, just her and Chappy. The offer was still there of course, but she would not press it upon them as much as maybe some people would like her to.
Rabbit gone, there was just a rather irritable Rukia, doing her best imitation of the Kuchiki displeasure, which if she had asked, she would know for sure was well known at least among those of Soul Society, and probably more than most, the person standing in front of her.
---
"It woulda been fine, Couldn't be worse than it sticking it's nose down the front of my robes." He shot back, a glare of defiance to answer that 'high and mighty' look she was trying to pull on him. Yeah, it was intimidating, but he was the 6th division's Vice captain, which meant those looks were worth piddy squat compared to what Kuchiki-taichou actually dished out. Leaning back more he gave her a level glare, a sign that he himself was agitated somewhat, and not bothering to rub his arm. The feeling lingered, in the way only it did when she decided to try and knock the stupid out of his head once in a very often while. "No one told me to, and even if I was ordered to, if I didn't want to, I wouldn't of. Can't I be worried about what kind of shit you're getting yourself into when I'm not looking?"
It took a moment or three for him to realize how badly phrased that reply was. He may as well dangled some stupid rare-edition chappy in front of her nose. The air around the apartment grew less bearable, his heated temper clashing with her chilling attempts to make him backdown. If it were a public street, then they could of been mistaken for a number of things, but for now the only possible spectator was having too much fun finding how much water he could turn into piss from the water bottle. "Been less then a month since you came here, you'd at least figure we'd be worried about our comrades from time from time, idiot."
---
Fine, so he was worried. About his 'comrades' as he put it. Fine. All very fine.
Except it wasn't.
"You're avoiding the point," she said, and since the glare wasn't working, turned her back on him, because it really never got more comfortable to crane her neck to stare at him anyway. "These are all really obvious things...Renji," she waved a hand dismissively at nothing in particular, and frowned deeply, not that he could see her face now, but that wasn't the point of it either. Her intent was not to guilt trip him, nor to manipulate, simply to quite possibly forcibly drag his reasons out of him, plain and easy. In the old days, she was the one telling him what he should and shouldn't do, from not napping in trees, to other more serious things, and it did not matter that he was, well, better at everything than she was. Here, in this strange place where enemy and friend alike had been somehow brought, rank and place was not really an issue, but that bit of an invisible wall from the years they had spent apart sometimes made itself known, and now was maybe one of those times. It was partially Rukia's own tendency to get defensive. It was easier to accept being monitored by clear superiors, but with Renji all manner of lines were blurred and it made her close to angry that he would even begin to act as guard dog.
Brushing some of the chip off her shoulder for as long as possible, she rolled her eyes before crossing her arms, back still to him.
"What did I do?" she asked and if he could avoid such a blunt question, well, maybe she would have to give him credit for that. Something about his own defensiveness reminded her of Ichigo briefly and she couldn't help a slight and wry smile, more of an upward twitch at the corner of her mouth. They were both easy to read, in a way, Renji less so because he was older and there was more baggage there, but to a certain extent, the tip-off reactions were similar and she noticed this, even if she would never, ever comment on it.
---
What did she do? What did she do? Well, honestly, Renji wasn't too clear on those details either, but whatever she did, wasn't good. His memory flickered to the obviously baited 'talk' with the octava, and his fist tightened, teeth gashing slightly. His, until now, companion rumbled in the back of his mind, calming him as only Zabimaru could, in that strange kind of way. Sitting straighter, he stared at the back of her head, hand ready to put on her shoulder, but it stopped in mid air. What was he supposed to say in times like this, what was anyone supposed to say?!? He wasn't some mind reader or some pussy whipped shadow of a man. He'd seen plenty in his life, but fucking hell,there were times he wondered what the hell made it so hard to do something like fucking talk.
"Got involved with people sane people wouldn't of, you idiot." He snapped, all his frustration poured into that simple, vague phrase. It was also choice moments like these he would of loved to of bashed his own head into a hard object, ideally Szayel-aporro's skull.
---
The gears clicked and she whirled on him, perhaps with more vehemence than was warranted by someone who was, technically just looking out for her, but then, that was what bothered her, wasn't it?
"Szayel?" she asked and didn't wait for an answer. She'd read up well enough on any information available on the present espada, arrancar, and so on her first day in the city, not to mention badgering Ichigo for every bit of information he was handy for, which wasn't as much as she'd hoped but he was more of a when-needed sort of person anyway and she probably shouldn't have expected so many answers. She knew better than that. Well, sometimes she did. "He was going to take an injured person into his 'care' Renji," she said in a way not unlike someone trying to explain something slowly, even though her intention was not to be condescending so much as to get her point across fast. "I couldn't just walk by that," she said and it was not an argument, nor a defense, simply a fact. He knew her well enough, she mused a bit more quietly than her exterior belied, even if they had moments of distance. "You wouldn't have," she added sharply and gave him a stare, not a scowl, nor a frown or a sulking look, just a stare.
Then she reached out, thoughtlessly and flicked his forehead with her thumb and forefinger.
"You wouldn't," she repeated.
----
That was an insult if he ever did hear one. "Like hell I would, but..." And there he stopped, effectively caged, bound, and thrown in a corner. There wasn't much of an excuse for him to make. And she damn freakin knew it. Even if he knew better, Renji wasn't known for making calculated choices, and throwing himself against things with a devistatin' bite was one of the things he could be counted on doing. He tried to force out a snappy comeback, a noise, a wheeze, but nothing really came out. Throwing himself back into the pillows of his seat, he brooded, eyes looking out the window, absentmindedly rubbing his forehead. If she gave him a few minutes, he'd make out a perfectly acceptable excuse....
---
Like she was going to just stand there like a good imitation of a statue of herself and wait for him to think of something else to say to put her off, to evade her. Even if he was thinking of something less evasive than she imagined, it didn't do anything for his case that he had refused that he would help an injured person, or anyone. He could act that way, but she knew he would have stopped, if not in small part because she was aware from what she had been told and overheard, that this Szayel was one of Renji's very least favorite things in the entire city, possibly top three--or bottom, depending on how one looked at it.
Watching him settle back, she shook her head, brow furrowing again and shoulders tensing as she stepped closer, which brought her a bit taller than he was sitting down, which made her feel a tiny bit better inside, not that she wanted to even begin to admit that to herself, much less him. She didn't exactly tower over him, but for Rukia, just being taller was something, and truth be known, she was a force to reckon with as long as your name wasn't Kuchiki Byakuya or Ukitake Jyushirou. Even in those cases, she now was a bit different than she once was, but with Renji it was no holds barred at this point, as far as she was concerned.
"Liar," she challenged him with that one word and her eyes never left his.
---
"Oh?" He made a noise, well aware she was challenging him, "What are you going to do about it then?" The retort was smug, cocky, complete with a smirk which lifted one corner of his mouth.
---
What a silly question.
She slapped him upside the head.
"What do you think?!" she shot back, a return smirk on her face despite the underlying seriousness of their argument.
For good measure, she hit the side of his head again, more of a tap like one might use to wake someone up than anything.
---
His head had jerked to one side, and then the other, and stayed that way for a moment as he sat there, arms crossed, blinking with a abuh look before straightening and standing up straight. He towered over her smaller form with a devil's-going-to-eat-you-since-you're-annoying look and put one hand on her head and held her at arm's length.
"I think you're gonna lay off for a bit and just accept the fact that someone's gonna be looking after you, that's what I think!" Never say Renji had balls, because if she reacted badly, past tense would apply.
But that's why he was holding her at arm's length because HER arms were far shorter then his. Of course, how he'd get out of that damn situation was something he'd figure out later when he had to.
---
Rukia's initial impulse was to struggle like crazy, arms flailing and any form of dignity totally set aside--or thrown into some far off galaxy, not to return until she got angry enough to remember it; as it was, she was just frustrated now. That expression of his never got old but at the same time she never felt any different about it, which was to say she always felt like smacking it clean off his face, but that wasn't an option with him holding her away like that. Cheater, was one thought that ran through her mind.
Idiot, was another.
"I don't need looking after, Renji," she bit back and finally stopped trying to simply run into him, reaching up to grab his arm, well, more like his wrist with both her hands, fingers digging in with no real restraint because if she was restrained, chances were he wouldn't feel it at all.
Damn redhead, she thought and made a face at him to show not only her annoyance but a neat combination of a death-warning and potentially setting Chappy on him in his sleep, starting with his hair.
Which would be a shame, for Renji had nice hair, as peripheral a thought as that was.
---
"Yeah yeah, I heard you. Don't need, but couldn't hurt to have one, idiot. " He said bluntly, ignoring the prick that were her unusually SHARP nails, and standing firm as he held her in place. As for the death glares and such, eh, he was used to those kinds of things, and he followed the motto, "Unless you can back it up, aint going to fucking bother". Not one thought went to the state of his hair, but he looked at Rukia with unusually serious eyes.
"We're family. That means we look out for the other's back." The statement was to the point, and it was the closest, he felt, he'd get to telling her his feelings on the whole thing.
---
The statement of family stopped her more quickly than anything else he might have said would have, well, nearly. It helped that she had just spoken to Ukitake about the matter of considering each other family, about this very thing in fact: the right to be concerned about those considered as one's family, one's nakama also, in another form perhaps. One hand dropping from his wrist, the other remained but she stopped pressing her fingers into it which was probably a good thing because making him bleed really wasn't in her plans, however inadvertently.
"I know," she said to him, gaze softening just a little, still with that rather Rukia flare that detailed that he was not exactly in the clear. She wasn't ecstatic about being so closely watched, but maybe that was because she never quite got over being the one to take care of people, ever since the beginning. It didn't help that she had her own personal mental baggage that dealt with who looked after who...who went to save who...who stayed, who left.
"But are you going to be sleeping on this couch forever?" she asked, fingers sliding off his wrist and arms crossing, tilting her head up at him, slightly amused. "It's not even...well, your size," she decided on, because she could tell his feet must hang off the end when completely horizontal.
---
"Is that an invitation to stay then?" The questioning tone was minimal. He wasn't thinkin about staying there, but it wasn't a bad idea. He'd get out of Hinamori's hair and it was next door. "How about we just blow up the wall and connect the two apartments. That'd work." And then there was always the option of destruction and chaos. Zabimaru thrummed with approval of the destruction plan.
---
Rukia's face was one of deadpan quality as she then switched to wry and a rolling of her eyes for what must have been the third time at least.
"You can just take the empty room, you know," she jerked a thumb at the larger room, vacant since Inoue and Arisawa had never moved in. It was big enough for two people, and therefore plenty adequate for one. "No need to blow something else of theirs up," she said pointedly and her brow rose in entertaining suggestion and reference to his oven debacle. "Or do you have something against a regular bed?" she asked and looked with emphasis at the couch so obviously not large enough for her vertically inclined friend.
---
Renji grunted slightly before letting a lazy look appear on his face.
"Trees weren't so bad to sleep in, but If I had to, I'd take the bed any day. Guess this means I'm getting too soft." Swaggering over to the aforementioned door, he leaned against it. Standard room, bigger bed, nothing special, it'd do.
"I'm gonna break the news to Hinamori after dinner tomorrow," A thought came to mind, "Don't try anythin funny with that thing. I swear i'm gonna eat it if it does." Renji added a pointed look at Rukia, and then at chappy who had wandered back in from the kitchen and probably chewing on something that'd come back to haunt them later.
"Still think combinin' the two apartments was a good idea." He had to add his three cents again, just to see if she'd at least consider it. Then at least he'd be able to look after Rangiku and Hinamori too.
---
"Do what you want," she suggested, not bothering to hide the slight grin and great amusement it gave her to imagine Hitsugaya-taichou's reaction to the wall blowing up, probably without specific warning. She wasn't that familiar with Hitsugaya's behavior, or his methods of meditating on the actions of his fellow house mates, but she figured exploding walls merited a chewing out, possibly a very nonplussed glare. It didn't sound like much but to Rukia, Renji at the mercy of a vexed tenth division captain was more than a little entertaining. Besides, she didn't really care, truth be told. It wouldn't change anything as far as she was concerned. Hinamori was a friend of Renji's from the elite class in the Academy, not hers. Similarly, by association and a longer time spent here, Renji seemed more familiar with Hitsugaya, and presumably that implied Matsumoto as well, though she wouldn't go so far as to inquire. Living together would be just that. More people in a bigger place, that was all.
"I suggest warning them though so they don't think you decided to take up blowing ovens up as a hobby," she said, scooping up the very cute, and very innocent Chappy who seemed to be making his way towards Renji's feet. Rukia wrinkled her nose slightly, pulling an almost perplexed face at Renji, "Chappy really likes you." He probably couldn't care less, she knew, but it was fun to watch him twitch in the company of the cute and furry.
---
"That was a fucking accident and you know it." He almost snarled before eyeing the rabbit and then ignoring it. If it liked him, it could do him a favor by leaving him alone. The thing's attention was locked onto him and it tweeked him, and the best way to ignore that was to redirect the conversation, loudly. "Plus yer the one who blew up yer microwave. I bet I can smell the melted plastic still, idiot." He turned and stormed for the door, almost before stopping and looking over his shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, i'll warn em eventually." Which was most ideally, 2 minutes before he actually did. Heh.
It'd been a while since he cut loose, after all, and maybe he'd draw the ugly mug of that ass on it for 'visual' gratification... Better yet, get Rukia, with her abysmal skills with the pen, to do it.
---
If Rukia could read minds--and thank any gods or non gods in the universe she couldn't--she would have punched Renji in the face and told him to draw his own damn drawings. Hers were very, very skilled, and he was obviously just jealous beyond all reason.
But since she couldn't read minds what she said was, "Okay," a soft lilt to her voice that suggested no matter if he warned Hitsugaya or not, there would be some kind of...well, suffice to say Hitsugaya would not be happy and considering he just blew up their oven not long ago, the wall going might just be the thing to push him over the edge. Whatever edge that was.
She pet Chappy absently, tickling him a bit behind the ears because when she did he did this cute twitchy thing with his nose that made her smile, and then she set him down again, following Renji to the door, brow arched.
"And by warning I mean at least ten minute before you actually blow it up, Renji," she stated plainly, but it translated to: I know you.
---
Thing is, she could state is as much as she liked, but he had gained a rather useful skill while working with Kuchiki-taichou. Learning to selectively pick out what he needed to know, what he wanted to know, and what he wanted to ignore. Waving his hand like he understood her warning, he turned briefly to mess up her hair and walk down the hall to his own apartment. The strange pressure on his shoulders was lifted, and at least now he had a better plan on watching Rukia. Now came the hard part, figuring out what to do about the bastard. Too bad the guy didn't have any weaknesses he would give out.
He'd worry about that later. For now, food. Lots of it, because he was STARVING damn it.
---
Face scrunching in what could not possibly be an attractive way, she swatted at the already not-there hand, settling for smoothing her hair back into its already awkward shape. It's not that there was a lot to mess up, but she still had the right to be miffed. Well, she thought so. Peeking out the door after him, she exhaled with a sigh and then drew back in, closing the door. Chappy was hopping into her room even as she turned around and she followed, not exactly excited about the upcoming living arrangements but not averse to them either. It was best, in a sense, to stick together, and while Rukia had never been terribly close to much of anyone in their 'world', that had never meant she was closed off to the idea.
It had just never occurred to her as an option before.
"You, he doesn't like you," she said to Chappy, sitting on the floor next to the inquisitive rabbit. "But that's okay, he can deal with it," she said and pet him, and noted that he was quite possibly getting cuter with each passing minute.
Then again, anyone outside of her head would have been able to tell: that was just Rukia.
Rating;PG-13, blame Renji, as usual
Characters; Abarai Renji and Kuchiki Rukia
Summary; Renji has been camping out...in Kuchiki Rukia's living room. Oh, but WHY, she wants to know.
Log;
Renji wasn't the cute cuddly type, simply put. He was brash, loud, bullheaded, and perhaps at times, trigger happy. It wasn't in his nature to be overly gentle or slick with words and such. His words of concern came out either harsh, blunt, scary, or not at all, with no dial setting for 'alternative methods'.
...Which is why the rabbit in his lap was unusually uncomfortable. It was soft, cuddly, beloved, and quite content using him as a pillow and chewing on his freaking sash. All that meant was that he had no fucking clue what to do with the damn thing, other than eat it. But even he knew better than to try and eat someone's pet, especially when that someone was near him and had enough free shots to level even him. He eyed the thing, cheek resting against his fist, hoping the thing would leave his lap eventually.
...nope.
---
Chappy, not 'the thing' or 'that thing' or 'thing' as Renji seemed rather stuck referring to him as, was extremely cute, fluffy, and all rabbit. These things appealed to Rukia's specific but very easily tapped into sensory of all things cute and worthwhile...and by worthwhile she meant rabbit-related and belonging to her. It didn't make sense to her that Renji would not appreciate the wonders of Chappy, or the fact that Chappy, for whatever reason, had decided to give Renji the privilege of being his current pillow. That said, Renji's lack of fascination with Chappy was not really her primary concern, though it certainly ranked high. The main thing, the most obvious thing, was the fact that the redheaded friend of her childhood years had been in this apartment, her apartment for all reasonable respects, since the previous night.
He had, without much ceremony--with Renji there was little call for it--entered, and for lack of better phrasing, made camp.
Well, in any case he had made no indication of leaving, as far as she could interpret with him.
She was tempted to ask why he felt the need to sleep here, when well, fact was he lived next door, but then Chappy had taken a quick liking to him--perhaps he had liked him before--and this had distracted her until now.
Still, the distraction didn't keep her from eying Renji curiously as she sat on the couch, arms clasped round her knees, chin resting on top of them.
He seemed a bit more agitated than usual, even for having a rabbit on his lap, apparently unwanted. Well fine, was her thought. She was agitated too.
What business was it of his coming right in without a word of explanation?
But then, that was like him too, she admitted with a scowl in his general direction.
----
He could feel it, the scowling, pinched look, on his skin, and it made him shift a bit. He wasn't that stupid; Rukia wasn't going to be distracted for long and then would demand answers. Answers he didn't feel like answering, no matter what she'd do. The thing hopped a bit in his lap, sniffing at his robes as if he was a meal or something, paws on his chest before sticking his nose into the folds of his robes. An eyebrow twitched, but he didn't move to stop it. It was better then Rukia getting on his case, which meant a plethora of things. Bad enough that sick arse of an arrancar had flat out hinted at his interest, but the fact he couldn't do jackshit against the bastard back there, and hell, he wasn't getting any less rusty.
Sure, he fought against Momo and the others, but they weren't anywhere near the bastard's capabilities. Asking a captain was out of the question ... unless he pissed off Hitsugaya-taichou on a regular basis, but hell, he was fight-hungry, not downright suicidal. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted the look hadn't disappeared at all, if anything, it grew more intense. Things clicked in random places in his head, until his eyebrow twitched twice.
"What?" Was the only thing he had to say to tease the floodgates into opening.
---
She opened her mouth to tell him exactly 'what', which ranged from: you've been here overnight to it's nighttime again to you live next door and this is all very suspicious, don't think for an instant you're subtle Abarai Renji because you are definitely not......among other things.
But then Chappy started to make a go for Renji's hair and she ended up laughing instead, something she honestly didn't do enough, but really wasn't aware of anyway. The first thought that went hand-in-hand with that action was that Renji wouldn't like that. The second was that Renji could deal with it. Chappy was a priority, and if Renji knew what was good for him, he would have figured this out already. Hopefully. Covering her mouth with her hand briefly while her laughter petered out a bit, she sighed before fixing a furrowed brow at Renji's rather vexing 'what' and unfolding her legs to turn, hanging them off the couch, feet tapping the ground lightly.
"Don't pull him off too quickly or he'll take your braid with him," she warned in a very tut-tut way, but then shot him a knowing sideway glance that he ought to find familiar by now and added, "So Renji, finding Hitsugaya-taichou and Hinamori-fukutaichou impossible to live with suddenly?" This obviously wasn't the case but she prodded him with it as another way to ease them into what inevitably, would probably be something like a disagreement...with loud voices...which in some civilized places could be called arguing.
The odds were in that favor at least as she watched Chappy try to take part of Renji's sash and his hair....somehow. Clever rabbit, she thought and the look on her face went from perturbed to cute and childlike for a split second before returning to that of her more familiar look of: no nonsense.
---
'Friggen little... Fricka...SKIN THE FUCKING THING ALIVE' Renji was livid as he grabbed the blasted mutated rat and pulled it away, watching as it continued to munch on what hair it had and his dignity before it licked it's own lips and blinked as if he had done nothing wrong. Shaking it a bit, he dropped it back onto the couch, where the rat proceeded to climb back into his god damn lap and settle back in. He swore, cursed and went back to sulking, letting the thing do as it damned pleased, though is hair was now off limits. When it had settled back into molesting him in only ways a rabbit could, and only getting away because he was RUKIA's mutated rat thing, he avoided looking directly at Rukia.
"Nah, just needed some time away from 'em. Figure they have enough problems as is, especially not that Nemu's not livin' with us any more." Half-truth, but she didn't need to know if he could help it. "Plus you could use the company."
---
Part of her, the part she wasn't about to address, was moved by the certain part of Renji's statement that was more indicative of their longstanding friendship than most things---not many people really thought about Rukia in a way that might seem to appreciate company of any kind---and her eyes showed it, softening a bit, the color more of the blue than the black. But it was as such understanding is often, fleeting, and replaced with an amused smile, similar to a smirk as she reached out and smoothed Chappy's ears, petting him, while momentarily ignoring Renji's words while searching for her own. There was the option of beating it out of him. He would let her though and that would only make her angrier.
Was she angry?
Maybe a little. She had the distinct feeling that this was something more than about needing company. What it felt like really, she thought a little moodily, was being watched for safekeeping, for protection she could not perhaps provide for herself.
"Maybe," she said to the company comment and leaned forward so she could lean down and stare at Chappy on eye-level while scratching under his chin gently. "But that's not all. Is it?" she moved her gaze from Chappy up at the sulking being playing chair to her rabbit, her expression almost gentle, but closer to impassive, which anyone who knew Rukia at all could tell you could change from unreadable to rather unforgiving in an instant.
It depended on his answers of course.
She arched a brow at him in further silent question as if to ask him if he would give her any answers at all. Real ones, that is.
---
Head...hand...Rukia too close to... general lap area... place.... for comfort. He was a guy afterall, and nothing, not even thinking of... ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING DISTURBING IN THE WORLD, was going to make it any more comfortable. It wasn't like he was like the fairy: so flippin' gay that if he showed interest in a girl he'd let the rabbit eat his head bald, and he scowled, picking up the bunny and shoving it into the opening of a sleeve, like a pouch and leaned back. Better avoid that... yeah. Childhood friend or not, not a good idea for coochiecoos so close... Right. Whatever.
Answering wasn't going to be easy, not with that look on her face. The arched eyebrow and cold look meant he was on thin ice (pun fully intended), but what the hell was he supposed to say?!? 'Hey you fucking idiot, I'm here cause you were crazier then a bat on weed by messing around the gayer then sin, pink haired creep who makes allusions to leashes and pets?!?' Yeah, that'd go very well. He'd be eating city dirt faster then she could cast level ten spell at point blank. Grunting, he lifted his arm, the one not weighted down by what seemed to be a happy rodent, and scratched the side of his head. He needed to say something, but he couldn't tell her the damn truth, but she knew him too well and... ARGHFUCKINGDAMNITALLTOAPINKHELL. This was worse than when someone had given Yachiru sake AND sugar, in large amounts. Way worse.
He grunted again before muttering out, "Wanted to check up on you, that's all." A lame excuse, but better than nothing, right?
---
"Renji!"
Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head at the treatment of Chappy and she did the only thing Rukia would do in such a scenario. She made a grab for the sleeve, using one hand to grasp his wrist pulling his arm to one side, and the other to pull Chappy out of the sleeve. Stupid Renji. Really, this was a living creature, a very cute one, and he just...just...
Rukia set Chappy down on the floor to let him hop to explore other things he evidently found more interesting than being mercilessly stuffed in someone's sleeve. She didn't blame him.
Stupid Renji, she thought again, and fixed him with a glare reminiscent of the Academy days when they drove each other crazy on a relatively daily basis.
Well, maybe one of them drove the other crazy more than not, but that was all very detail oriented, and rather a long time ago, it seemed.
"Are you crazy? You could have hurt him!" she advanced on him, not pausing to slap his arm very hard, though nothing he probably wasn't expecting, to be fair. "You're not just checking up on me! Don't lie! You are a horrible liar and you know it!" That was true enough. Renji, all her life, she'd known him to be the straightforward one, to be honest if rather tactless in the process often enough.
"What? Did someone tell you to....'check up' on me?" she demanded. It wasn't wise to get rid of the buffer between them, Chappy having gone hopping to goodness knew what part of the apartment, otherwise empty at this time. She and Inoue and Arisawa had never really finished cementing living situations and so it remained as it had been since she first arrived, just her and Chappy. The offer was still there of course, but she would not press it upon them as much as maybe some people would like her to.
Rabbit gone, there was just a rather irritable Rukia, doing her best imitation of the Kuchiki displeasure, which if she had asked, she would know for sure was well known at least among those of Soul Society, and probably more than most, the person standing in front of her.
---
"It woulda been fine, Couldn't be worse than it sticking it's nose down the front of my robes." He shot back, a glare of defiance to answer that 'high and mighty' look she was trying to pull on him. Yeah, it was intimidating, but he was the 6th division's Vice captain, which meant those looks were worth piddy squat compared to what Kuchiki-taichou actually dished out. Leaning back more he gave her a level glare, a sign that he himself was agitated somewhat, and not bothering to rub his arm. The feeling lingered, in the way only it did when she decided to try and knock the stupid out of his head once in a very often while. "No one told me to, and even if I was ordered to, if I didn't want to, I wouldn't of. Can't I be worried about what kind of shit you're getting yourself into when I'm not looking?"
It took a moment or three for him to realize how badly phrased that reply was. He may as well dangled some stupid rare-edition chappy in front of her nose. The air around the apartment grew less bearable, his heated temper clashing with her chilling attempts to make him backdown. If it were a public street, then they could of been mistaken for a number of things, but for now the only possible spectator was having too much fun finding how much water he could turn into piss from the water bottle. "Been less then a month since you came here, you'd at least figure we'd be worried about our comrades from time from time, idiot."
---
Fine, so he was worried. About his 'comrades' as he put it. Fine. All very fine.
Except it wasn't.
"You're avoiding the point," she said, and since the glare wasn't working, turned her back on him, because it really never got more comfortable to crane her neck to stare at him anyway. "These are all really obvious things...Renji," she waved a hand dismissively at nothing in particular, and frowned deeply, not that he could see her face now, but that wasn't the point of it either. Her intent was not to guilt trip him, nor to manipulate, simply to quite possibly forcibly drag his reasons out of him, plain and easy. In the old days, she was the one telling him what he should and shouldn't do, from not napping in trees, to other more serious things, and it did not matter that he was, well, better at everything than she was. Here, in this strange place where enemy and friend alike had been somehow brought, rank and place was not really an issue, but that bit of an invisible wall from the years they had spent apart sometimes made itself known, and now was maybe one of those times. It was partially Rukia's own tendency to get defensive. It was easier to accept being monitored by clear superiors, but with Renji all manner of lines were blurred and it made her close to angry that he would even begin to act as guard dog.
Brushing some of the chip off her shoulder for as long as possible, she rolled her eyes before crossing her arms, back still to him.
"What did I do?" she asked and if he could avoid such a blunt question, well, maybe she would have to give him credit for that. Something about his own defensiveness reminded her of Ichigo briefly and she couldn't help a slight and wry smile, more of an upward twitch at the corner of her mouth. They were both easy to read, in a way, Renji less so because he was older and there was more baggage there, but to a certain extent, the tip-off reactions were similar and she noticed this, even if she would never, ever comment on it.
---
What did she do? What did she do? Well, honestly, Renji wasn't too clear on those details either, but whatever she did, wasn't good. His memory flickered to the obviously baited 'talk' with the octava, and his fist tightened, teeth gashing slightly. His, until now, companion rumbled in the back of his mind, calming him as only Zabimaru could, in that strange kind of way. Sitting straighter, he stared at the back of her head, hand ready to put on her shoulder, but it stopped in mid air. What was he supposed to say in times like this, what was anyone supposed to say?!? He wasn't some mind reader or some pussy whipped shadow of a man. He'd seen plenty in his life, but fucking hell,there were times he wondered what the hell made it so hard to do something like fucking talk.
"Got involved with people sane people wouldn't of, you idiot." He snapped, all his frustration poured into that simple, vague phrase. It was also choice moments like these he would of loved to of bashed his own head into a hard object, ideally Szayel-aporro's skull.
---
The gears clicked and she whirled on him, perhaps with more vehemence than was warranted by someone who was, technically just looking out for her, but then, that was what bothered her, wasn't it?
"Szayel?" she asked and didn't wait for an answer. She'd read up well enough on any information available on the present espada, arrancar, and so on her first day in the city, not to mention badgering Ichigo for every bit of information he was handy for, which wasn't as much as she'd hoped but he was more of a when-needed sort of person anyway and she probably shouldn't have expected so many answers. She knew better than that. Well, sometimes she did. "He was going to take an injured person into his 'care' Renji," she said in a way not unlike someone trying to explain something slowly, even though her intention was not to be condescending so much as to get her point across fast. "I couldn't just walk by that," she said and it was not an argument, nor a defense, simply a fact. He knew her well enough, she mused a bit more quietly than her exterior belied, even if they had moments of distance. "You wouldn't have," she added sharply and gave him a stare, not a scowl, nor a frown or a sulking look, just a stare.
Then she reached out, thoughtlessly and flicked his forehead with her thumb and forefinger.
"You wouldn't," she repeated.
----
That was an insult if he ever did hear one. "Like hell I would, but..." And there he stopped, effectively caged, bound, and thrown in a corner. There wasn't much of an excuse for him to make. And she damn freakin knew it. Even if he knew better, Renji wasn't known for making calculated choices, and throwing himself against things with a devistatin' bite was one of the things he could be counted on doing. He tried to force out a snappy comeback, a noise, a wheeze, but nothing really came out. Throwing himself back into the pillows of his seat, he brooded, eyes looking out the window, absentmindedly rubbing his forehead. If she gave him a few minutes, he'd make out a perfectly acceptable excuse....
---
Like she was going to just stand there like a good imitation of a statue of herself and wait for him to think of something else to say to put her off, to evade her. Even if he was thinking of something less evasive than she imagined, it didn't do anything for his case that he had refused that he would help an injured person, or anyone. He could act that way, but she knew he would have stopped, if not in small part because she was aware from what she had been told and overheard, that this Szayel was one of Renji's very least favorite things in the entire city, possibly top three--or bottom, depending on how one looked at it.
Watching him settle back, she shook her head, brow furrowing again and shoulders tensing as she stepped closer, which brought her a bit taller than he was sitting down, which made her feel a tiny bit better inside, not that she wanted to even begin to admit that to herself, much less him. She didn't exactly tower over him, but for Rukia, just being taller was something, and truth be known, she was a force to reckon with as long as your name wasn't Kuchiki Byakuya or Ukitake Jyushirou. Even in those cases, she now was a bit different than she once was, but with Renji it was no holds barred at this point, as far as she was concerned.
"Liar," she challenged him with that one word and her eyes never left his.
---
"Oh?" He made a noise, well aware she was challenging him, "What are you going to do about it then?" The retort was smug, cocky, complete with a smirk which lifted one corner of his mouth.
---
What a silly question.
She slapped him upside the head.
"What do you think?!" she shot back, a return smirk on her face despite the underlying seriousness of their argument.
For good measure, she hit the side of his head again, more of a tap like one might use to wake someone up than anything.
---
His head had jerked to one side, and then the other, and stayed that way for a moment as he sat there, arms crossed, blinking with a abuh look before straightening and standing up straight. He towered over her smaller form with a devil's-going-to-eat-you-since-you're-annoying look and put one hand on her head and held her at arm's length.
"I think you're gonna lay off for a bit and just accept the fact that someone's gonna be looking after you, that's what I think!" Never say Renji had balls, because if she reacted badly, past tense would apply.
But that's why he was holding her at arm's length because HER arms were far shorter then his. Of course, how he'd get out of that damn situation was something he'd figure out later when he had to.
---
Rukia's initial impulse was to struggle like crazy, arms flailing and any form of dignity totally set aside--or thrown into some far off galaxy, not to return until she got angry enough to remember it; as it was, she was just frustrated now. That expression of his never got old but at the same time she never felt any different about it, which was to say she always felt like smacking it clean off his face, but that wasn't an option with him holding her away like that. Cheater, was one thought that ran through her mind.
Idiot, was another.
"I don't need looking after, Renji," she bit back and finally stopped trying to simply run into him, reaching up to grab his arm, well, more like his wrist with both her hands, fingers digging in with no real restraint because if she was restrained, chances were he wouldn't feel it at all.
Damn redhead, she thought and made a face at him to show not only her annoyance but a neat combination of a death-warning and potentially setting Chappy on him in his sleep, starting with his hair.
Which would be a shame, for Renji had nice hair, as peripheral a thought as that was.
---
"Yeah yeah, I heard you. Don't need, but couldn't hurt to have one, idiot. " He said bluntly, ignoring the prick that were her unusually SHARP nails, and standing firm as he held her in place. As for the death glares and such, eh, he was used to those kinds of things, and he followed the motto, "Unless you can back it up, aint going to fucking bother". Not one thought went to the state of his hair, but he looked at Rukia with unusually serious eyes.
"We're family. That means we look out for the other's back." The statement was to the point, and it was the closest, he felt, he'd get to telling her his feelings on the whole thing.
---
The statement of family stopped her more quickly than anything else he might have said would have, well, nearly. It helped that she had just spoken to Ukitake about the matter of considering each other family, about this very thing in fact: the right to be concerned about those considered as one's family, one's nakama also, in another form perhaps. One hand dropping from his wrist, the other remained but she stopped pressing her fingers into it which was probably a good thing because making him bleed really wasn't in her plans, however inadvertently.
"I know," she said to him, gaze softening just a little, still with that rather Rukia flare that detailed that he was not exactly in the clear. She wasn't ecstatic about being so closely watched, but maybe that was because she never quite got over being the one to take care of people, ever since the beginning. It didn't help that she had her own personal mental baggage that dealt with who looked after who...who went to save who...who stayed, who left.
"But are you going to be sleeping on this couch forever?" she asked, fingers sliding off his wrist and arms crossing, tilting her head up at him, slightly amused. "It's not even...well, your size," she decided on, because she could tell his feet must hang off the end when completely horizontal.
---
"Is that an invitation to stay then?" The questioning tone was minimal. He wasn't thinkin about staying there, but it wasn't a bad idea. He'd get out of Hinamori's hair and it was next door. "How about we just blow up the wall and connect the two apartments. That'd work." And then there was always the option of destruction and chaos. Zabimaru thrummed with approval of the destruction plan.
---
Rukia's face was one of deadpan quality as she then switched to wry and a rolling of her eyes for what must have been the third time at least.
"You can just take the empty room, you know," she jerked a thumb at the larger room, vacant since Inoue and Arisawa had never moved in. It was big enough for two people, and therefore plenty adequate for one. "No need to blow something else of theirs up," she said pointedly and her brow rose in entertaining suggestion and reference to his oven debacle. "Or do you have something against a regular bed?" she asked and looked with emphasis at the couch so obviously not large enough for her vertically inclined friend.
---
Renji grunted slightly before letting a lazy look appear on his face.
"Trees weren't so bad to sleep in, but If I had to, I'd take the bed any day. Guess this means I'm getting too soft." Swaggering over to the aforementioned door, he leaned against it. Standard room, bigger bed, nothing special, it'd do.
"I'm gonna break the news to Hinamori after dinner tomorrow," A thought came to mind, "Don't try anythin funny with that thing. I swear i'm gonna eat it if it does." Renji added a pointed look at Rukia, and then at chappy who had wandered back in from the kitchen and probably chewing on something that'd come back to haunt them later.
"Still think combinin' the two apartments was a good idea." He had to add his three cents again, just to see if she'd at least consider it. Then at least he'd be able to look after Rangiku and Hinamori too.
---
"Do what you want," she suggested, not bothering to hide the slight grin and great amusement it gave her to imagine Hitsugaya-taichou's reaction to the wall blowing up, probably without specific warning. She wasn't that familiar with Hitsugaya's behavior, or his methods of meditating on the actions of his fellow house mates, but she figured exploding walls merited a chewing out, possibly a very nonplussed glare. It didn't sound like much but to Rukia, Renji at the mercy of a vexed tenth division captain was more than a little entertaining. Besides, she didn't really care, truth be told. It wouldn't change anything as far as she was concerned. Hinamori was a friend of Renji's from the elite class in the Academy, not hers. Similarly, by association and a longer time spent here, Renji seemed more familiar with Hitsugaya, and presumably that implied Matsumoto as well, though she wouldn't go so far as to inquire. Living together would be just that. More people in a bigger place, that was all.
"I suggest warning them though so they don't think you decided to take up blowing ovens up as a hobby," she said, scooping up the very cute, and very innocent Chappy who seemed to be making his way towards Renji's feet. Rukia wrinkled her nose slightly, pulling an almost perplexed face at Renji, "Chappy really likes you." He probably couldn't care less, she knew, but it was fun to watch him twitch in the company of the cute and furry.
---
"That was a fucking accident and you know it." He almost snarled before eyeing the rabbit and then ignoring it. If it liked him, it could do him a favor by leaving him alone. The thing's attention was locked onto him and it tweeked him, and the best way to ignore that was to redirect the conversation, loudly. "Plus yer the one who blew up yer microwave. I bet I can smell the melted plastic still, idiot." He turned and stormed for the door, almost before stopping and looking over his shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, i'll warn em eventually." Which was most ideally, 2 minutes before he actually did. Heh.
It'd been a while since he cut loose, after all, and maybe he'd draw the ugly mug of that ass on it for 'visual' gratification... Better yet, get Rukia, with her abysmal skills with the pen, to do it.
---
If Rukia could read minds--and thank any gods or non gods in the universe she couldn't--she would have punched Renji in the face and told him to draw his own damn drawings. Hers were very, very skilled, and he was obviously just jealous beyond all reason.
But since she couldn't read minds what she said was, "Okay," a soft lilt to her voice that suggested no matter if he warned Hitsugaya or not, there would be some kind of...well, suffice to say Hitsugaya would not be happy and considering he just blew up their oven not long ago, the wall going might just be the thing to push him over the edge. Whatever edge that was.
She pet Chappy absently, tickling him a bit behind the ears because when she did he did this cute twitchy thing with his nose that made her smile, and then she set him down again, following Renji to the door, brow arched.
"And by warning I mean at least ten minute before you actually blow it up, Renji," she stated plainly, but it translated to: I know you.
---
Thing is, she could state is as much as she liked, but he had gained a rather useful skill while working with Kuchiki-taichou. Learning to selectively pick out what he needed to know, what he wanted to know, and what he wanted to ignore. Waving his hand like he understood her warning, he turned briefly to mess up her hair and walk down the hall to his own apartment. The strange pressure on his shoulders was lifted, and at least now he had a better plan on watching Rukia. Now came the hard part, figuring out what to do about the bastard. Too bad the guy didn't have any weaknesses he would give out.
He'd worry about that later. For now, food. Lots of it, because he was STARVING damn it.
---
Face scrunching in what could not possibly be an attractive way, she swatted at the already not-there hand, settling for smoothing her hair back into its already awkward shape. It's not that there was a lot to mess up, but she still had the right to be miffed. Well, she thought so. Peeking out the door after him, she exhaled with a sigh and then drew back in, closing the door. Chappy was hopping into her room even as she turned around and she followed, not exactly excited about the upcoming living arrangements but not averse to them either. It was best, in a sense, to stick together, and while Rukia had never been terribly close to much of anyone in their 'world', that had never meant she was closed off to the idea.
It had just never occurred to her as an option before.
"You, he doesn't like you," she said to Chappy, sitting on the floor next to the inquisitive rabbit. "But that's okay, he can deal with it," she said and pet him, and noted that he was quite possibly getting cuter with each passing minute.
Then again, anyone outside of her head would have been able to tell: that was just Rukia.