Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ An Evening at the Mall ❯ Saturday Night ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach; it was created by Tite Kubo and is owned/licensed through Shonen Jump. I make no money for the writing of this fan fiction.

Shopping malls were a new mystery to Renji Abari. Here he was on a Saturday afternoon with a group of teenagers. Granted he was still young for a Shinigami, but there was something weird about hanging around beings that made him feel like he was hanging around with Academy soul reapers instead of his peers.

Considering his gigai's appearance, he was labeled a delinquent. In Japan, men and women with tattoos were considered social outcasts. It was little surprise people steered clear of him in the 'real world'. Granted in the soul Society he was exotic, but people's reaction to him here reminded him uncomfortably of childhood.

This was why he felt so envious of Rukia, waving to everyone in the mall with such ease. Beaming that smile that reminded him of Orihime walking on her right. And Chizuru on her left. That pink haired woman lover would not keep her mitts off Orihime and it tickled him to see how Tatsuke kept her at bay. That shorthaired tomboy was Orihime's self-appointed bodyguard. In two clusters, they walked males behind females. Women flocked together like chickens in the courtyard of the farms he and the other kids in their street gang used to raid.

Along with them were Ichigo and his two `friends' Keigo and Mizuiro, which Renji considered more of a 'posse', or a set of retainers. Keigo always flapped his hands and acted melodramatic only to be flapped aside by the younger dark haired lad that reminded Renji of the keeper of the hell butterflies. They were amusing and a pleasant distraction to Renji to watch in action. They made Ichigo uncomfortable and annoyed. He grumbled and felt the tightness of his gigai. It felt stifling at times. As they made their way to the food court, he saw the girls spread out and grab one another's wrists leaving the males to glance at one another in question. Pizza, bento, onigiri?

"What'll it be men? I say bento!" Keigo proclaimed.

“Onimiyamki!” Mizuiro interrupted.

"I'm too damn hungry to care," Ichigo grumbled. Renji felt glad that the other male soul reaper in their party was at least not as disgustingly cheerful as the others were. Chad stoically grunted in response, leaving Renji standing scratching his neck at all the stalls arranged up before him. Nothing was different from the Soul Society save the existence of matter instead of spirit. Flickering lights and strangely clothed people jockeyed for position just as they did on the train on the way here.

On the subway they had ridden, some uniformed men with batons had shoved Renji hard into Ichigo and Rukia as they got onto the train. To think they paid these retainers to shove people into the trains, as Rukia explained. There were SO many people present in the cities and public places that it floored Renji. In restaurants, many of the tables seemed Lilliputian. He was tall for a soul reaper, but his gigai matched the dimensions of his soul form. Therefore, he towered far above the general populace as Sato did. His red hair was not as bright as Ichigo's, but it tagged him as a center of attention just like the others. Carrying a guitar seemed to help because they assumed he was just a rocker or delinquent.

Renji remembered it being said that Chad's two friends played in a band. They were always hitting him up for money. Renji shoved his hands into his pockets and wandered after Ichigo. The two of them seemed stuck together since Renji had been recruited to take Rukia's place in the 'real world'. With the arrival of Rangiku and others, the soul reaper population had become quite dense for just one town. Fortunately, it was back down to him and Rukia.

On the periphery of their group wandered Uryuu, standing in line for bento and trying to distance himself from them as soon as they entered together. He orbited them like a scouter reporting to their captain. Alternatively, a wolf pack. Unwittingly he was the closest to a rogue.

Smells and sights gelled together and his nose twitched. The stomach twisted with hunger and he soon found himself jockeying for position with the others in line. He kept clear of the Quincy and deferred to staying near Ichigo's group, though reluctantly at first. Keigo and his sidekick were good for amusement after all.

Plastic crunched in their hand as they clustered their bags. Then Keigo waved from a set of tables where he had already piled the bags the women had pushed there. Miziuro and Chad went around pulling chairs out for everyone to sit down.

Lunch consisted of the girls finally intermingling with the guys. Orihime had pushed her way in between Ichigo and himself, and he was slightly relieved, only to have Tatsuki shove him down. Thankfully, he felt Rukia squeeze her way to his other side and felt a bit more grounded. Uryuu confined himself to an end, amidst Sato and Ichigo's group. While the other females dominated the far end. Rukia's high-pitched chatter grated at his ears. He liked the sound of her normal voice but she modulated it to sound 'kawaii' like typical females in contemporary Japan just to fit in. All necessary for their cover.

Keigo half-elbowed Rukia as he slurped on his soda. Tatsuki darted around to stop Chizuru from squeezing next to Orihime and Ichigo snorted. Mizuiro was himself a buffer against Keigo's antics while he chatted to the women near him. Grabbing his tray he lifted it up and marched down to the 'guys'' end of the table only to get a withering look from Uryuu. Tatsuki was so fixated on keeping a leash on Chizuro that Orihime managed to follow Ichigo and sit next to him. Not that he minded in the slightest. That left Renji surrounded by chattering females and he felt as if he was in hell.

He clamped his hands over his ears and growled between clenched teeth, then picked up the chopsticks to start shoveling food down his throat. At least with his nose buried in the aroma of sushi he could block out the sensation of sound. Rukia struggled to stab a straw into a juice box as usual, but Orihime successfully assisted her despite the many offers of help. Then talk abated among the munching of onigiri and other tempting treats. So fixated was Renji on what his gigais five senses bombarded with that he ignored the topics of conversation.

"No guys, I'll think about it, seriously," Rukia answered.

"But we're inviting ALL the lovely ladies! You've got to come!" Keigo begged.

"Give it a rest," Ichigo complained, shaking his head.

"Oh you've got to come! That's the third movie you've turned down this week, Rukia!" Orihime urged.

"Some of us DO have to study," Uryuu mumbled through the forest of voices.

"He is right," Chad offered.

"Traitor," Keigo glared at him and pouted. He slurped loudly on his milkshake, causing Ichigo to turn dramatically away from him as usual.

"Let the men study! We girls have our act together and we can balance work and play," Tatsuki countered.

"I want to sit next to YOU Orihime," Chizuru began.

"Enough already," Renji growled. "I'm just trying to eat here?"

Chizuru blinked at him, her words dead in her throat. She angled away from the 'delinquent' and huffed as she bit into a piece of onimiyaki. Her other friends mumbled, "And we thought Ichigo had a scary face."

"I think we can do both. Ichigo studies hard and knows how to budget his time, so we all can learn from him," Orihime brightly said. Uryuu pretended to ignore her continued promotion.

"Says the Ichigo fan club of one," Tatsuki rolled her eyes.

"Movies will always be there, just like last week. And knowing you guys you'd want to see monster robot pirate zombies attack," Ichigo answered after swallowing a mouthful of spring roll.

"Men in rubber suits again," Renji snickered.

"Everyone knows THAT," Keigo laughed. "But it's part of the FUN!"

"Exactly," Rukia agreed. "Lighten up."

“Who wants bean jam in their milkshakes?” Orihime giggled, pulling a jar out of her purse. A collective groan was suppressed from around the table.

“Why doesn't one of you men volunteer since you're the entertainment committee, self appointed?” Tatsuki asked, grabbing the jar. “It's on me.”

“I'll go,” Renji said, dropping his chopsticks and rising from the table. Any excuse to get away he would take.

“I'm out. I have to check out the notions store before they run out of gold thread,” Uryuu excused himself as he rose from the table.

“Renji, you're all right, my man,” Keigo patted him on the back as he picked up Rukia's tray along with his own.

“I'll help,” Rukia offered, getting up as well.

“You need someone to help him translate?” joked Mizuiro and he grumbled.

“Weaklings. Looks like I've got to go help the only gentleman in the group out of the lot of you,” Tatsuki glared towards the rest of the table. “C'mon, this way.”

“I'll help you!” Orihime offered. Chizuru opened her mouth to say something but was thankfully suppressed by two of the other girls in her group.

“All right, that's enough verbal dumping today,” Ichigo glared at Tatsuki. “Wait here ladies, I'm going…”

“We'll go. Orihime and the others can sit here,” Tatsuki said.

“I said it's no big deal,” Ichigo rolled his eyes at her. “I'm not going to be outdone by the other redhead in the group.”

“Into the fray again, kid?” Renji joked. Ichigo nodded. Ice cream and milkshake orders were soon scribbled down on the backs of napkins and thrust into the hands of Ichigo and Renji. The red haired shinigami blinked helplessly at the slips in his hands until Ichigo and Orihime led the way to the ice cream stand. Rukia saw as Orihime eagerly took them from him and danced with glee towards the counter. Ichigo shouldered people out of the way as Orihime eagerly rattled off the multiple orders. Renji and Rukia walked side by side after them, saying very little between them but communicating in other nonverbal ways. Rukia knowingly glanced up at him with a smirk on her face seeing him glance back every few seconds.

Ichigo folded bills out of his wallet, having collected the money from his various friends while Orihime charmed the young teens working in the TBCY counter. They all grinned and chattered with her, catching her infectious smile. Even Ichigo cracked a small smile in that normally glum demeanor. Yet as soon as he saw anyone looking at him, he would reinstate the frown.

“I've been with this retinue for months and it still baffles me why I come on these outings,” Renji murmured.

“It's the sense of Nakima,” Rukia said softly as Renji glanced back with a shake of his head.

“Yeah. It feels like the old days doesn't it?” Renji glanced down at her with a knowing nod.

“You see why now? It's fun. I thought you'd forgotten what that was for a while,” Rukia elbowed him in the ribs.

“Says you,” Renji stuck his tongue out at her. Rukia countered and they surprised their laughter.

“All right, that's 5 lemonades, 6 banana cream milkshakes with sprinkles, one hot fudge with extra hot sauce… and two diet cola floats,” Ichigo nodded, passing Orihime the money. In exchange, he started to grab the handfuls of paper and Styrofoam cups. Renji automatically grabbed the tray Rukia passed to him and it was soon filled. Ichigo himself took the other tray and Renji and he nodded between them. The two comrades at arms had their own nonverbal communication. Orihime carried her own banana split shake and smiled charmingly at Rukia before passing her the lemonade.

“Thank you, hime,” Rukia beamed. The extra cuteness was making Renji and Ichigo share collective glances of annoyance. Both knew it was an act, and it made both their teeth hurt to hear it at times.

“She sometimes tries too hard,” Ichigo whispered.

“You should have seen her growing up. She always could charm the apple merchant while the rest of us swiped half his produce,” Renji whispered back. Both of them were hidden behind trays of beverages and desserts from the girls that walked ahead of them. Rukia and Orihime chatted in those high-pitched strains with perfect ease. So different they were and yet so alike. Orihime hooked her arm around Rukia's and urged her to walk more quickly towards the table. It was a common gesture among close female friends in Asian cultures, Renji knew. They were effectively sisters.

Renji allowed himself to smile a bit. Ichigo nodded, half-guessing what his friend was thinking. Both of them knew Rukia in their different ways and grunted. Amber and brown eyes locked momentarily each reflecting the same pride and happiness.

“She seems to blend right in here,” Renji muttered.

“Like she belongs here,” Ichigo agreed with firmness in his voice.

“Yeah,” Renji nodded. Ichigo smirked, knowing the Renji Abari he had first met would not share such a common view as the one that walked beside him now. Chad was carrying trays of trash towards the dustbin as Keigo leapt up from his chair and rushed towards the foursome. He was quite helpful pulling out chairs for Orihime and Rukia near him while Tatsuki helped Ichigo distribute the drinks.

“Step this way lovely ladies. Let's mix it up a bit. Mingle,” Keigo insisted, clapping his hands. Renji noticed with a sigh of relief that Chizuro had somehow disappeared with at least one of the other girls leaving the number more `balanced'. He guessed perhaps it had something to do with Ishida running to the craft store because the girls that were absent were also members of the handicraft club.

Tatsuki and the other two remaining girls stationed themselves somewhere near Chad and Keigo. Rukia politely took the seat offered her by Keigo, while Renji sat next to her and Ichigo and Orihime took two of the other vacated chairs. Indeed, it was `boy girl' boy girl as would happen halfway through the group date. Still they mostly kept their hands to their selves and instead chattered in their various zones of the table. Renji watched as Rukia occasionally input responses to Orihime's chattering and Keigo's gregarious stories. He was the center of attention and the court jester at times to break an otherwise tense mood that may surface from time to time.

High school seemed weird to Renji, a few years out of the academy as Rukia was. Yet he felt that sense of energy enfolding him as Rukia identified it. Camaraderie of peers from which Ichigo drew his strength, and now Rukia. Among these were friends who would live and die for her, and for Orihime. Some of them had shared death together. Eventually Uryuu returned to join them with Chizuru and the others and the conversations continued to overlap. Renji focused on Ichigo reactions to Orihime's newest tale of an improbable dream. He noticed how Ishida's eyes wandered shyly towards hers only to vanish when Ichigo glanced towards him.

Renji immediately thought of a song he had heard blaring out of one of the dance festival halls they called discotheques. Rukia had told him it was called Bizarre Love Triangle by a European pop group from `the eighties' called Pet shop boys. He was no stranger to the whispers of shinigami love lives that happened between missions. While there were those who chose to marry, many would have their own private relationships that were only paid attention to when whispered among the tatamis at night, or over sake after a campaign. On the other hand, even in the privacy of the taverns where the conversations of many would assure anonymity. Although he would complain about being dragged along with the group, but he secretly enjoyed these outings for they were good for his morale.

He watched as Orhime's hand vanished under the table a few minutes after Ichigo's did. Indeed many of the teen's hands not holding their beverages were now invisible. Something pinched his thigh and Renji hissed with frustration to see someone with a rather red face next to him.

“What the hell are you doing?” he growled at Keigo.

“S… sorry… wrong leg… ha ha,” Keigo apologized, shrinking away.

“Give it a rest,” Ichigo grumbled, tossing a balled up napkin at his friend's head.

“I need to um… have a meeting in the office, right?” Mizurio urged, grabbing him arm. Both headed in the general direction of the `men's room'.

Renji glowered for a moment, and then glanced towards Rukia. She nudged his banana milkshake and he picked it up, taking an audible slurp that broke the award silence. “So Orihime, how many things CAN you make with bean jam?” Rukia tittered.

“Oh; glad you asked! I've found over fifty so far… and I'm working on fifty ONE!” she giggled.

“Oh my stomach,” Tatsuki whined.