Dragon's Fang (Renji Abarai x OC)

¢нαρтєя 3

Hotaru waited impatiently outside the prison. Although she was 3rd seat in 6th division and a close friend of Rukia's, she was not an officer and therefore not allowed to be present during Kuchiki Taichou's announcement regarding Rukia's sentence. She stayed off to the side in hopes that Kuchiki Taichou wouldn't take much notice, even though she wasn't necessarily assigned elsewhere.

She watched a few Shinigami walk past, chatting lazily about who knows what. She sighed and looked skyward, trying to picture something in the clouds that might take her mind off of the current events. Thankfully she didn't have to wait long.

Hotaru lowered her gaze back to her surroundings in perfect timing, catching Renji right as he exited the prison. She glanced around for the Captain, although he was nowhere to be seen. Certain he had seen her, just as well as she was certain he didn't care, Hotaru caught up to Renji.

At first glance, her heart sank. Renji's expression was stony, and his walk seemed to be devoid of purpose or direction.

"Renji?" she asked, and he only momentarily acknowledged her presence. Hotaru frowned and walked in front of him. "Renji, what happened? What's wrong?" she asked. He stopped moving to keep from running into her, although he still stared right past her as if she wasn't even there. This time she almost growled at him, grabbing his chin and pulling his face towards hers so he could do nothing but stare right at her. "If you don't tell me what's going on, Renji, so help me..." she warned, and Renji just blinked sadly at her.

"Rukia's going to die" he said softly, and Hotaru gasped.

"No!" she said, although it came out as a barely audible whisper. Renji reached up and grasped her hand lightly, gently pulling it from his face and holding it.

"Kuchiki Taichou just announced her execution. She's scheduled to go to the Central Executional Grounds in 25 days, final decision" he continued, and Hotaru ripped her hand out of his.

"I don't understand! How could....but..." Hotaru stammered, blinking back tears as she stared at the ground, searching for some kind of answer to her unspoken questions.

"He said it like it was nothing" Renji said, unable to remove his gaze from his hand until Hotaru landed a resounding slap against his cheek.

"And you just sat there and let him, didn't you?" she asked, her eyes ablaze. "I swear, Renji, if I could kill you right now, I would" she said, shoving her way past him and into the prison. He made no move to follow her, just as she expected, which she was almost glad for. She came to a halt in front of the bars of Rukia's cell, where Rukia sat as usual, her back to the bars.

"You should be quieter, Hotaru-chan, I'm sure Nee-sama doesn't want you to be here" Rukia warned, sensing Hotaru without a word being spoken. Hotaru unlocked the cell and slid the door open. She needed to lean on the bars just to keep standing.

"I don't much care about what he wants right now, Rukia" she said. Although she tried desperately to keep her voice from quivering, apparently she didn't manage because Rukia turned around to look at her.

"Hotaru-chan..." she said, eyes wide. Hotaru sighed, understanding her surprise. It wasn't normal for a Shinigami to express such human emotions, and Rukia herself never thought she was worth the pain, but Hotaru let her tears flow.

"This isn't fair, Rukia. It just...isn't" she said, walking around her chair and sitting down against the back wall of the cell. Rukia smiled softly, although Hotaru could see through it.

"Something I've been thinking since I've been brought back here to Soul Society" she began, letting the smile fade from her face. "We shall not shed tears, for that is the defeat of one's body to one's heart, and to us, it simply proves that existence of our heart is an existence that is beyond our control."

Hotaru sighed and dropped her head. It was impossible to convince Rukia of something other than what she had set her mind to. If Rukia refused to cry then so must Hotaru.

"You're too philosophical. Stop it" Hotaru grumbled, crossing her arms and frowning. Rukia smiled softly once more, although only for a second, but it still managed to make Hotaru feel better.