[First Book]
Emiko Kurosaki is a 15 year old teen who has no memory of her past. All she remembers was waking up on the streets, at the age of seven, cold, confused, and starving. Luckily, a kind couple pick her up and brought her into their home. I...
Renji simply walks off to another side of the training room as he addresses us.
"I don't really want to admit it, but the fact is that I can't save Rukia at my current level. So I came here to train. Don't worry, I won't get in your way. I have reached the stage of materialization of my zanpakuto. So I'm pretty close to getting Bankai."
Turning his head our way and stopping in his tracks, we watch as a large gorilla, with a snake tail, manifest right in front of him.
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"I'll be training over here, okay?"
"Dammit, what now, Yoruichi?" Nagi asks.
The two looked dead serious as they think.
"Noon tomorrow? There's no way he can reach Bankai by then." Yoruichi thinks.
The sound of a blade shattering catches their attention. They both look towards Ichigo as he speaks.
"That's not good. You're the one who...suggested this training method, Yoruichi. So you shouldn't give up before everyone else!"
"But, Ichigo... What if you still can't get Bankai by tomorrow?"
"I said it before. We can't waste time worrying about the "what if's". The deadline has been changed to noon tomorrow. So what?"
I show a small smile.
"All we have to do is finish before noon tomorrow!"
"...Come on, Yoruichi." Nagi grins. "Time to train his heart out."
She settles down and nods. Secretly watching, Renji smiles at Ichigo's words as well.
~~~~Time Skip~~~~
Ichigo is still training with Nagi and Yoruichi watching him closely. I on the other hand, look towards the place Renji disappeared to. He was behind some large boulders, training as well.
"..."
Getting up, I go see what he's doing.
"Guh!"
"Not good enough, Renji." the gorilla tells him. "Get up."
Renji gets off the ground and faces his zanpakuto's soul once more.
"There... Hmm? What do you want?"
The gorilla had spotted me. Renji turns his head and faces me.
"I just wanted to know... Are your wounds okay?"
"...That's right. They told me a Ryoka helped patch me up. So that was you, huh?"
I nod my head.
"You basically saved my life... Yeah, I feel a lot better now."
That's good.
He sends a smile my way.
"Thanks for that... But why?"
He completely turns my way, resting his zanpakuto blade on his shoulders.
"I treated you horribly and attacked your brother."
"That's true... But, you were begging Ichigo to save Rukia, right?"
"..."
"You have a heart. You not as cold as you pretended to be when we first met. You care about Rukia as much as we do. You can't fake that. And since our goals are the same, you're not an enemy."
"...I see."
"Why did you have a sudden change, though?"
"...Rukia and I are basically childhood friends."
We sit together as he explains their whole pass to me.
~~~~Time Skip~~~~
"And that's how we ended up here."
"I understand..."
"...I'm sorry."
"What about?"
"About how I treated you, your brother, and your friends when we first met."
"...Then I apologize for the way I spoke to you. When I get upset, I tend to sound like Ichigo. I...also didn't mean to scratch you. I just wanted to keep my brother alive."
Saying that last sentence, I look at my prefect nails. Renji smiles as he thinks out it.
"Yeah, that stung like crazy. It felt like I was attacked by a cat."
"...Sorry."
"It's fine... Well," he suddenly stands. "my break is over. I should get back to training. If you want to watch, that's up to you."
"..."
He walks back to the gorilla and snake, which he called Zabimaru.
"Oh."
He turns his head my way.
"I really meant it when I said you saved my life. I'm thankful for that. I owe you one...Emiko."
He remembers a mere human's name, huh?
"You can pay me back by helping us save Rukia...Renji."
He nods, showing a determined smile.
~~~~Time Skip~~~~
I open my eyes to find myself surrounded by complete darkness.
"Huh? Ichigo? Nagi?" I call out.
But I got nothing.
"...I'm dreaming."
That's right. The last thing I remember is falling asleep, while watching Renji train.
"You ignore people? That's how you greet them?"
There's a voice, but it didn't sound like the one from before.
"Yo, can you even hear me?"
"No...I..."
"Terrible!"
My hair is suddenly gripped from behind. I'm then spun around to come face to face with a soul reaper. My eyes widen when I see his face. The guy just frowns at me.
"You suck at greetings! Now, we're going to try again, and when we do, you better reply the right way."
"O-Okay..."
He lets go, and straightens up before smiling. Pointing at him self, he talks.
