2. Unexpected (1/2)

the will to protect

chapter 1: unexpected

from the prologue…

tatsuki was suddenly and roughly jerked out of her thoughts as she heard a crash and then a tinkling sound of glass falling onto her study table. she rapidly sat upright on her bed, ready to attack if it was a person who had caused her window to

eak.

however, nothing prepared her for whom she saw.

abarai renji was crouching on her study table, looking totally unfazed by it.

renji knew the moment when tatsuki got over her shock at his sudden intrusion to her room. it was easy. a minute ago, she was staring wide-eyed at him, shock written all over face as clear as day. as for now…

"abarai! what do you think you're doing! barging into my room like that!" tatsuki yelled. she thanked the heavens that her mom was away, visiting a sick relative for the weekend. if her mom had walked in on them, she was in deep shit.

"shut up, arisawa-"

"why are you dressed up like that? making a fashion statement!" tatsuki cut renji off as she noticed his unusual attire – all black traditional robes and a katana slung across his waist. he looked like he had just stepped out of an ancient samurai story.

"i've got better things to do then make a fashion statement!" renji growled, an eye

ow twitching in annoyance, "such as saving you!" it was at times like this that he wondered why he was becoming rather fond of the girl. meh. she was a spitfire almost every second of the day!

tatsuki stared at the redhead in sheer disbelief, her amazement over his choice of clothing forgotten in an instance. "saving me? ha! i could take you on myself and win! you're the one that'll need saving!"

renji suppressed a frustrated groan as he stood up and leapt off her table, landing neatly on the floor. at this rate, tatsuki would, undoubtedly, be caught in the intense crossfire when the allankar finally reached her house. he could already sense the evil presence getting closer by the second. he couldn't waste precious time arguing with her. "listen, arisawa. run as far as you can from your house. now."

she continued to stare back at him blankly before her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "what are you planning to do? and what makes you think you, of all people, can order me around, abarai?"

this time, renji let out an audible groan of utter frustration at the black-haired girl and

ought a hand to cover his face. "can't you just listen and trust me this once, arisawa? this is for your own safety!"

how in the world was he going to make her listen to him without explaining everything to her and making sure that she would believe him? more importantly, if she didn't move soon, the allankar would arrive very, very soon. if she didn't leave soon, he was going to have to forcibly drag her away… to, to somewhere safe. wherever that place was, he would decide later. what mattered now was that tatsuki was not in her neighborhood, much less her house!

however renji had no more time to deliberate for at that moment, the allankar arrived, entering through the window too. tatsuki was once again shocked, but now at the appearance of the person who had entered. he had a hole in the middle of his torso, and was also wearing the traditional robes that she thought nobody would ever wear on a normal day. vaguely she wondered why people were taking a liking to entering her room via her window tonight and in such strange costumes too.

"what the hell? another one i'm going have to kick out of my house?" she growled as her shock changed into annoyance.

"shit!" renji cursed under his

eath, his eyes keeping both tatsuki and the allankar in sight. he had drawn out zabimaru and was holding it in a battle-ready stance, preparing to leap into battle at the slightest provocation.

the allankar appeared not to have heard tatsuki or renji and it gave a malicious smirk, casting blank eyes around the room. "ah… this is perfect! a shinigami and another to boot. it's the perfect meal!"

"s-shinigami?" tatsuki exclaimed in surprise. death god? what sort of a joke is this?

"this is what i meant by saving you," renji said pointedly to tatsuki as he inclined his head towards the humanoid hollow slightly. "and i'll explain everything to you later!"

as if they were cued by an invisible director, renji and the allankar charged at each other simultaneously, zanpakutous in front of them both. there was a resonating clash of metal as they became locked stalwartly in the middle of the room, each glaring hatefully at each other, possibly hoping to kill the other by mere gazes.

"since this will be our first and last meeting," sneered the allankar, "i'd like to know the name of the shinigami i'm going to defeat."

renji snorted, "you're the one who's going down, allankar. but you'd do better if you remembered the name of the man who killed you." with a short pause, he smirked and then added, "abarai renji, vice captain of the sixth division."

the smirk on the allankar's face widened at renji's words. "ah… that's

illiant! a vice captain! i will truly enjoy myself when i decimate you." there was another metallic clash as it

oke the contact between the zanpakutous.

"oh really? i think you won't find it so

illiant very, very soon."

tatsuki watched the verbal exchange with a bewildered expression on her face. she didn't understand what renji and that weird person were talking about. they sounded so much like nonsense… like things she would only hear coming from orihime due to her imaginative mind. shinigamis? vice captain of the sixth division? allankar?despite her confusion at the current situation, her initial wariness of renji's sudden appearance had worn away and somehow, inexplicably, she believed that he had really wanted to keep her from harm.

which was probably in the form of the strange man for renji hadn't seemed too surprised at his arrival. that man seemed to be after her, for what reasons she didn't know. what tatsuki understood clearly, however, was that she wasn't going to let anyone fight her battles! that said, she was going to fight the intruder regardless of what renji had been telling her to do: run.

"arisawa, what are you doing! run!" renji suddenly shouted as he suddenly felt that tatsuki's spiritual pressure started to flare and turn offensive… like the times when they were involved in physical fights. which meant only one thing: she was going to join this battle. damn it!

"you should know by now that i never run from fights, abarai."

"damn it, arisawa! this isn't a simple fight! it can cost you your life! are you going to take such a risk!" god, he thought she had more sense than that!

by this time, tatsuki had already leapt at the allankar, ready to deliver a series of crushing blows. however, her attempt was thwarted as the allankar sent her flying with a flick of its wrist as it suddenly released a powerful blast reiatsu. tatsuki was slammed ruthlessly against the wall of her room. all this while, the allankar was still locked in combat with renji. renji knew he shouldn't underestimate the being before him, but he spared a glance at tatsuki, who had just staggered to her feet, rubbing her left arm that had impacted against the wall first.

"tsk. tsk. you should've ran when your friend told you to, girl. you won't even be a warm up for me!" the allankar mock-lectured. "i'll deal with you after i finish him off, so don't interfere!"

tatsuki snarled as she clenched her fists tightly, her dark glare trying to stare holes into the face of the allankar. nobody would live after belittling her. although she knew that the intruder was strong and had some sort of strange powers, she would not back down. she would prove that she was no little girl! she took a step forward and positioned herself into a fighting stance.

"stop it arisawa! are you trying to get yourself killed?" renji yelled in disbelief, worry and exasperation. if they both survived this, he was going to have to revise his view on arisawa tatsuki – pronto. contrary to what the others thought, she was not a rational person. that much he was very, very certain now.

"shut up, abarai! you can't stop me!"

on the contrary, i think i can… renji thought, but he made sure not to voice it out. as tatsuki made another rush for the allankar, renji jumped and positioned himself between her trajectory and the allankar. at the same time, he slashed at the allankar who blocked. renji scowled. the allankar was stronger than most hollows; he had better make sure tatsuki never got herself entangled in the midst. he had a feeling that although he had a limit to how much of his power he could use, when the time came, he probably would have to release his bankai.