"He knows. He's coming."
Renji waits two days before sending a shadow bird to the Mountain House with a note attached. 'My apologies. You are always welcome.' It took him a whole day to find the right words to write down. A foot of scroll and six hours later, and the bird is off towards it's set destination. He sighs as it leaves his hand, and watches it disappear into the distance.
Three days after the note is sent, the bird flies back - perches itself on the porch outside of Renji's room - and twitters softly. Renji sits up, he'd been lying down - waiting - and is surprised to see a note attached to it's leg. 'He knows, he's coming'. Renji feels panic for an instant, which is replaced by anger as he balls the note into his tight fist and growls.
Renji doesn't eat anything or speak to anyone for the next two days. No one. Not a word. He shows the note to Ryuu, as a warning, but refuses to speak. Not a sound escapes his lips. On the third night, he sits in the main room - unmoving. He is waiting. The only sounds are his breathing, and the soft falling rain that taps on the roof, threatening to grow into a decent storm.
Ryuu steps in - quietly - and sits next to the pink haired shinobi. "How long, do you think?"
Renji's lips move and he bares his teeth, talking through them. "Mid-morning." Renji's voice is hoarse from lack of use.
Ryuu can remember how Renji used to be. The quiet, wordless threat that he was. Minabi has changed that, she's changed everything. The Master wonders if maybe the change is for the worse. Minabi has softened Renji, chipped away at the ice of his heart, and Ryuu thinks that maybe he was better off the way he was. He knows that Renji's anger was what made him the best shinobi in the House behind Ryuu himself. Now, Renji thinks before he acts and he feels something along the lines of mercy. Over the past two days, Renji has fought the change. His chakra is back to it's old self again, and the threat is present. The ice blue of Renji's eyes has intensified, and Ryuu feels that this fight - faceoff - that is going to happen between Renji and Akira will fully bring back the old Renji. The merciless, cold, unforgiving beast that Renji always was - deep inside. Minabi only pushed the beast back, not able to fully get rid of it - nothing could ever fully get rid of it. It's who Renji is, and who he always will be.
"Tea?" Ryuu asks, calmly.
Renji raises an eyebrow, slowly. A very typical Renji motion, and Ryuu stands, sighs, and walks to the kitchen. Renji is left in the dark, thinking about what's going to happen in a few hours.
Minabi steps to the doorway, and pauses there. She doesn't know what's happening, Renji won't talk to her - to anyone - and she's beyond angry at this point, she's worried. "Renji?" She asks, quietly, stepping slowly closer. "Are you coming to bed?"
Renji looks to her, and the anger fades as he looks into her worried eyes. "No. Go sleep." His voice is solid, and she can feel how his chakra has been changing over the past day or two. She knows something is going on, but can't seem to get anything out of him, or Ryuu. Which means something big is going on. Something that she feels she should know about.
She opens her mouth to say something, but stops, and sighs. Turning back around, she sighs again, and walks back down the hallway.
After a few more minutes of Renji sitting in the darkness, Ryuu returns with two cups of tea and sets one in front of Renji, in Kai's cup. Renji looks at it for a second, before returning to staring at the wall, body and chakra completely still.
"You should eat something." Ryuu says, sitting next to him, before taking a sip of his tea.
Renji doesn't speak. He sits. He waits.
The rain lightens as the night goes by, and Ryuu sleeps a few hours while Renji sits motionless in the main room. Breakfast comes and goes, and Renji hasn't moved. Minabi didn't even bother to try speaking to him, she just ate and went back to his room, pacing nervously. She'd barely slept all night, thinking about what possibly could have changed Renji's chakra back so fast. She slides Renji's door to the lake open, watching the rain fall, when suddenly the whole House changes. Everyone is moving, and she feels Renji's chakra spark even from across the House. She runs.
Renji is standing, in the rain, waiting. His anger is flaring and he's already drenched, feet buried into the mud. The rest of the House is crowded around the doors and outside porch, watching Renji intently. No one speaks, and the tension level spikes. The rain slows, and then stops, as Renji stands - unmoving - waiting. Ryuu tries to send his chakra out to calm his shinobi, but it doesn't help as much as he had hoped it would. He should have gotten them out...
Akira is running up the hill to the House, and Renji stands his ground - fighting the urge to run towards his brother. Akira sees Renji, and smiles, slowing to a walk. He stops, about forty paces from Renji, and smiles at his brother for a long moment before speaking. "Hello, older brother." Akira's voice is so similar to Renji's that it startles the Lake House shinobi.
Minabi is in the back of the group of people, making her way to the front - following Ryuu through the crowd. They both finally make it to the front, Minabi's jaw dropping slightly as she stares at Akira. He looks just like Renji, with blonde hair the color of honey in the sunshine and eyes just slightly darker than the man standing opposite him. "Is that..." She starts, unable to finish her question.
"That would be Akira... Renji's brother." Ryuu says, quiet.
Renji tenses as his chakra fills the space around him, dark and angry. He growls, and Akira laughs. "What is it? Too feral for words, brother? Or could it be that you're just speechless from the shock of seeing me?"
Renji growls again, baring teeth. "Leave, and I won't kill you." His words are just loud enough to reach Akira, who laughs again.
"Am I supposed to be afraid? We've hunted together, brother. And you are no scarier than a bear near her cubs. I would know." Akira crosses his arms nonchalantly, asking for it. He wants a fight, because he thinks he can win.
Renji shifts to an aggressive stance, slightly hunched and ready to attack. He screams, loud and quick, and Minabi can see his breathing change.
"I'm not here for you, brother." Akira states, plainly. "I'm here for your woman."
A burst of panic escapes Renji before he can stop it and he feels his eyes grow wide. He fights the urge to look over to her, but decides to try something else. "Well you're out of luck. I knew you'd come, and I sent her away to safety. Now I say again, leave and I won't kill you."
"You honestly think I'd believe that? We both know that you wouldn't let her out of your sight while you knew I was out and about." Akira's smile changes to something viscious as he speaks again, louder so the whole House can hear. "So where is she? Where is the legendary Red Butterfly? Where is the princess?"
The Ni of the House go tense, save for Ryuu who stands tall and calm by Minabi's side. With Akira's last question, a sort of confusion spreads through the air without a need for words.
Ryuu steps out from the crowd, his presence causes both Renji and Akira to look to him. Akira is smirking, a familiar look to the Lake House but clearly on the wrong face, and Renji is confused with his eyebrows furrowed. When Ryuu speaks, his chakra spreads over his shinobi and his voice seems to echo. "I think we should bring this inside, Renji."
"Ryuu what the hell is he talking about?" Renji pauses, resetting himself. "You know what, I don't even fucking care right now. Just leave her out of this. I will fucking skin you like a bear, Akira. So help me I will tear your throat out with my bare hands. You know I can fucking do it." Renji takes a few steps closer to Akira as he speaks, using almost all of his control to not look over at Minabi, standing in front of the crowd. He can feel her chakra and her urge to move forward - to claim her existence. Before she can get the chance to, Akira speaks again.
"Yes, brother. I know you can. I have seen it with my own eyes. But my question is..." Akira's eyebrow tilts as he speaks, clearly a typical motion of the family, "...could you really live with yourself knowing that both of your brother's deaths were your fault? First Kai, and then myself... could you spend everyday knowing that you killed two of your own siblings?"
Renji's chakra floods out of him like a tidal wave and he screams - wordless and roaring - as he runs towards his brother. He draws his sword while he runs, but Akira doesn't move. Ryuu thinks he can see Akira's eyebrow tilt again as he slowly draws his own sword, waiting, but he isn't sure. Renji would have guessed that Akira would have reached for the pistol on his hip but apparently Akira wants a fairer fight than that.
Renji leaps at Akira, still screaming, and lands a few feet from his brother, slicing downward. Akira swiftly moves to one side, crouching and swinging his own sword out to stop Renji's strike. Before anyone can even blink, Renji thrusts himself forward, landing on Akira and they roll a few times. They stop with Renji overpowering his brother, swords left behind, and Renji gets three good punches in before Akira kicks him off.
"Is that all you've got, brother?! Is that the best you can do?! Don't insult me with petty fighting! Are you going to kill me or - "
Renji is back on top of Akira before he can finish his sentence. He has one hand on Akira's temple with the other on the opposite side of his chin, ready to snap his neck - he screams again, sheer power radiating off of him, before jumping back off of his brother. He turns away, his bare back facing Akira, and speaks through clenched teeth. "Leave, Akira. Leave this House and these people alone. This is bigger than you."
Akira stays on the ground, a bit stunned and a look of astonishment on his face. "Hatomi was right, Renji. You have changed. She's changed you. I had it set in my head that if I came here, you would kill me. And so did you. I know you, Renji. We're family - "
Renji whirls back around to face the other man, rage back in his eyes - his posture. "You think you can call yourself my family after what happened?!" Renji steps closer as he yells. "You think I even associate myself with you anymore?! I considered us distant before you tried to kill me, but now... I don't even recognize the man looking back at me. Where is my little brother?! Where is he, Akira?!"
Akira doesn't move, he just continues talking. "This woman has certainly changed you. Family used to be just a word to you, now it has substance." Akira pauses, and Renji can smell the mountain air drifting off of him. "I thought you'd kill me, Renji. But there was mercy behind your eyes. I never thought the day would come when you thought before you acted. But I was wrong. There was a moment when you were your old self again. Blood thirsty, viscious, feral, and I felt your power along my whole body. It was good to have you back again, but now I see what Hatomi meant when she said you had found meaning. You are no longer a beast."
Renji turns back around, ignoring the lies coming from his brother's lips. "Take your lies and get away from my House, Akira. Now. You can't fool me with that shit. Hatomi may have said that but you couldn't care less."
Akira's sensitive expression is suddenly gone, replaced by a smirk and dark eyes. "It sounded good, did it not? I'm quite proud of that speech..."
Renji starts to walk away, and Akira's face shows no emotion as he draws his gun out from it's holster, aiming at his brother's back. Minabi screams Renji's name and he turns only in time to watch his brother pull the trigger. The bullet flies faster than Renji can get out of the way but he manages to drop slightly, trying to roll. Instead of the bullet going through the center of his chest, it lands above his heart just under his collarbone. He screams, in anger more than pain, and rushes toward Akira. Before the mountain ninja can reload the gun, Renji is on top of him - still screaming and without even thinking, he grabs Akira around the throat with his good right arm, pinning him as best he can with his left.
"Renji!" Ryuu screams, stepping closer to the brothers, voice booming out. "You don't want to kill him..."
Akira moves swiftly, fighting out of his brother's grip and rolling them over. He straddles Renji pinning his body and his good arm, and driving his hand into the bullet wound. Renji screams, loud and real, as his brother pushes harder - teeth bared. Samus and Shihiro glance at each other - having heard that scream before - knowing that if they were in the House, the walls would shake. Renji takes in air only to scream again, a roar of noise and pain.
Three days after the note is sent, the bird flies back - perches itself on the porch outside of Renji's room - and twitters softly. Renji sits up, he'd been lying down - waiting - and is surprised to see a note attached to it's leg. 'He knows, he's coming'. Renji feels panic for an instant, which is replaced by anger as he balls the note into his tight fist and growls.
Renji doesn't eat anything or speak to anyone for the next two days. No one. Not a word. He shows the note to Ryuu, as a warning, but refuses to speak. Not a sound escapes his lips. On the third night, he sits in the main room - unmoving. He is waiting. The only sounds are his breathing, and the soft falling rain that taps on the roof, threatening to grow into a decent storm.
Ryuu steps in - quietly - and sits next to the pink haired shinobi. "How long, do you think?"
Renji's lips move and he bares his teeth, talking through them. "Mid-morning." Renji's voice is hoarse from lack of use.
Ryuu can remember how Renji used to be. The quiet, wordless threat that he was. Minabi has changed that, she's changed everything. The Master wonders if maybe the change is for the worse. Minabi has softened Renji, chipped away at the ice of his heart, and Ryuu thinks that maybe he was better off the way he was. He knows that Renji's anger was what made him the best shinobi in the House behind Ryuu himself. Now, Renji thinks before he acts and he feels something along the lines of mercy. Over the past two days, Renji has fought the change. His chakra is back to it's old self again, and the threat is present. The ice blue of Renji's eyes has intensified, and Ryuu feels that this fight - faceoff - that is going to happen between Renji and Akira will fully bring back the old Renji. The merciless, cold, unforgiving beast that Renji always was - deep inside. Minabi only pushed the beast back, not able to fully get rid of it - nothing could ever fully get rid of it. It's who Renji is, and who he always will be.
"Tea?" Ryuu asks, calmly.
Renji raises an eyebrow, slowly. A very typical Renji motion, and Ryuu stands, sighs, and walks to the kitchen. Renji is left in the dark, thinking about what's going to happen in a few hours.
Minabi steps to the doorway, and pauses there. She doesn't know what's happening, Renji won't talk to her - to anyone - and she's beyond angry at this point, she's worried. "Renji?" She asks, quietly, stepping slowly closer. "Are you coming to bed?"
Renji looks to her, and the anger fades as he looks into her worried eyes. "No. Go sleep." His voice is solid, and she can feel how his chakra has been changing over the past day or two. She knows something is going on, but can't seem to get anything out of him, or Ryuu. Which means something big is going on. Something that she feels she should know about.
She opens her mouth to say something, but stops, and sighs. Turning back around, she sighs again, and walks back down the hallway.
After a few more minutes of Renji sitting in the darkness, Ryuu returns with two cups of tea and sets one in front of Renji, in Kai's cup. Renji looks at it for a second, before returning to staring at the wall, body and chakra completely still.
"You should eat something." Ryuu says, sitting next to him, before taking a sip of his tea.
Renji doesn't speak. He sits. He waits.
The rain lightens as the night goes by, and Ryuu sleeps a few hours while Renji sits motionless in the main room. Breakfast comes and goes, and Renji hasn't moved. Minabi didn't even bother to try speaking to him, she just ate and went back to his room, pacing nervously. She'd barely slept all night, thinking about what possibly could have changed Renji's chakra back so fast. She slides Renji's door to the lake open, watching the rain fall, when suddenly the whole House changes. Everyone is moving, and she feels Renji's chakra spark even from across the House. She runs.
Renji is standing, in the rain, waiting. His anger is flaring and he's already drenched, feet buried into the mud. The rest of the House is crowded around the doors and outside porch, watching Renji intently. No one speaks, and the tension level spikes. The rain slows, and then stops, as Renji stands - unmoving - waiting. Ryuu tries to send his chakra out to calm his shinobi, but it doesn't help as much as he had hoped it would. He should have gotten them out...
Akira is running up the hill to the House, and Renji stands his ground - fighting the urge to run towards his brother. Akira sees Renji, and smiles, slowing to a walk. He stops, about forty paces from Renji, and smiles at his brother for a long moment before speaking. "Hello, older brother." Akira's voice is so similar to Renji's that it startles the Lake House shinobi.
Minabi is in the back of the group of people, making her way to the front - following Ryuu through the crowd. They both finally make it to the front, Minabi's jaw dropping slightly as she stares at Akira. He looks just like Renji, with blonde hair the color of honey in the sunshine and eyes just slightly darker than the man standing opposite him. "Is that..." She starts, unable to finish her question.
"That would be Akira... Renji's brother." Ryuu says, quiet.
Renji tenses as his chakra fills the space around him, dark and angry. He growls, and Akira laughs. "What is it? Too feral for words, brother? Or could it be that you're just speechless from the shock of seeing me?"
Renji growls again, baring teeth. "Leave, and I won't kill you." His words are just loud enough to reach Akira, who laughs again.
"Am I supposed to be afraid? We've hunted together, brother. And you are no scarier than a bear near her cubs. I would know." Akira crosses his arms nonchalantly, asking for it. He wants a fight, because he thinks he can win.
Renji shifts to an aggressive stance, slightly hunched and ready to attack. He screams, loud and quick, and Minabi can see his breathing change.
"I'm not here for you, brother." Akira states, plainly. "I'm here for your woman."
A burst of panic escapes Renji before he can stop it and he feels his eyes grow wide. He fights the urge to look over to her, but decides to try something else. "Well you're out of luck. I knew you'd come, and I sent her away to safety. Now I say again, leave and I won't kill you."
"You honestly think I'd believe that? We both know that you wouldn't let her out of your sight while you knew I was out and about." Akira's smile changes to something viscious as he speaks again, louder so the whole House can hear. "So where is she? Where is the legendary Red Butterfly? Where is the princess?"
The Ni of the House go tense, save for Ryuu who stands tall and calm by Minabi's side. With Akira's last question, a sort of confusion spreads through the air without a need for words.
Ryuu steps out from the crowd, his presence causes both Renji and Akira to look to him. Akira is smirking, a familiar look to the Lake House but clearly on the wrong face, and Renji is confused with his eyebrows furrowed. When Ryuu speaks, his chakra spreads over his shinobi and his voice seems to echo. "I think we should bring this inside, Renji."
"Ryuu what the hell is he talking about?" Renji pauses, resetting himself. "You know what, I don't even fucking care right now. Just leave her out of this. I will fucking skin you like a bear, Akira. So help me I will tear your throat out with my bare hands. You know I can fucking do it." Renji takes a few steps closer to Akira as he speaks, using almost all of his control to not look over at Minabi, standing in front of the crowd. He can feel her chakra and her urge to move forward - to claim her existence. Before she can get the chance to, Akira speaks again.
"Yes, brother. I know you can. I have seen it with my own eyes. But my question is..." Akira's eyebrow tilts as he speaks, clearly a typical motion of the family, "...could you really live with yourself knowing that both of your brother's deaths were your fault? First Kai, and then myself... could you spend everyday knowing that you killed two of your own siblings?"
Renji's chakra floods out of him like a tidal wave and he screams - wordless and roaring - as he runs towards his brother. He draws his sword while he runs, but Akira doesn't move. Ryuu thinks he can see Akira's eyebrow tilt again as he slowly draws his own sword, waiting, but he isn't sure. Renji would have guessed that Akira would have reached for the pistol on his hip but apparently Akira wants a fairer fight than that.
Renji leaps at Akira, still screaming, and lands a few feet from his brother, slicing downward. Akira swiftly moves to one side, crouching and swinging his own sword out to stop Renji's strike. Before anyone can even blink, Renji thrusts himself forward, landing on Akira and they roll a few times. They stop with Renji overpowering his brother, swords left behind, and Renji gets three good punches in before Akira kicks him off.
"Is that all you've got, brother?! Is that the best you can do?! Don't insult me with petty fighting! Are you going to kill me or - "
Renji is back on top of Akira before he can finish his sentence. He has one hand on Akira's temple with the other on the opposite side of his chin, ready to snap his neck - he screams again, sheer power radiating off of him, before jumping back off of his brother. He turns away, his bare back facing Akira, and speaks through clenched teeth. "Leave, Akira. Leave this House and these people alone. This is bigger than you."
Akira stays on the ground, a bit stunned and a look of astonishment on his face. "Hatomi was right, Renji. You have changed. She's changed you. I had it set in my head that if I came here, you would kill me. And so did you. I know you, Renji. We're family - "
Renji whirls back around to face the other man, rage back in his eyes - his posture. "You think you can call yourself my family after what happened?!" Renji steps closer as he yells. "You think I even associate myself with you anymore?! I considered us distant before you tried to kill me, but now... I don't even recognize the man looking back at me. Where is my little brother?! Where is he, Akira?!"
Akira doesn't move, he just continues talking. "This woman has certainly changed you. Family used to be just a word to you, now it has substance." Akira pauses, and Renji can smell the mountain air drifting off of him. "I thought you'd kill me, Renji. But there was mercy behind your eyes. I never thought the day would come when you thought before you acted. But I was wrong. There was a moment when you were your old self again. Blood thirsty, viscious, feral, and I felt your power along my whole body. It was good to have you back again, but now I see what Hatomi meant when she said you had found meaning. You are no longer a beast."
Renji turns back around, ignoring the lies coming from his brother's lips. "Take your lies and get away from my House, Akira. Now. You can't fool me with that shit. Hatomi may have said that but you couldn't care less."
Akira's sensitive expression is suddenly gone, replaced by a smirk and dark eyes. "It sounded good, did it not? I'm quite proud of that speech..."
Renji starts to walk away, and Akira's face shows no emotion as he draws his gun out from it's holster, aiming at his brother's back. Minabi screams Renji's name and he turns only in time to watch his brother pull the trigger. The bullet flies faster than Renji can get out of the way but he manages to drop slightly, trying to roll. Instead of the bullet going through the center of his chest, it lands above his heart just under his collarbone. He screams, in anger more than pain, and rushes toward Akira. Before the mountain ninja can reload the gun, Renji is on top of him - still screaming and without even thinking, he grabs Akira around the throat with his good right arm, pinning him as best he can with his left.
"Renji!" Ryuu screams, stepping closer to the brothers, voice booming out. "You don't want to kill him..."
Akira moves swiftly, fighting out of his brother's grip and rolling them over. He straddles Renji pinning his body and his good arm, and driving his hand into the bullet wound. Renji screams, loud and real, as his brother pushes harder - teeth bared. Samus and Shihiro glance at each other - having heard that scream before - knowing that if they were in the House, the walls would shake. Renji takes in air only to scream again, a roar of noise and pain.