As the night enveloped the city, a lone figure in torn jeans and a navy pea coat roamed the streets. A wind from behind pushed locks of his red hair into Renji's face. He didn't care; he was lost in thought. Since Rukia had met Ichigo, she had been different. She had gained a confidence that she had lost. It had been eating at him. He wanted to know why Ichigo was able to do this. Why he couldn't be the one. She apparently trusted that orange-haired kid more than she trusted him. The mere thought of those two got him all riled up.

The sound of footsteps gaining on him pulled him out of his brooding. The tattooed god of death turned to see a raven-haired young woman in a pink quilted down jacket running towards him.

"Renji," Rukia cried, "wait!"

When she caught up with him, she went to hit him upside the head as she caught her breath. "Why did you leave?"

He dodged the hit. "You've heard the mortal saying, two's company and three's a crowd." He started walking away. He was in no mood to explain.

Rukia grabbed the back of his pea coat. "Renji, don't walk away from me."

"Then give me a reason to stay," he snarled.

Shocked by his remark, Rukia let go of his coat.

Renji took the release as her answer. He started walking away from Rukia. He wasn't the type of guy to stay where he wasn't wanted. He quickened his pace to get as much distance as he could from her.

After walking a few blocks, the tattooed death god looked around to get his bearing and realized he walked down the exact street where he first met Ichigo. Ichigo came to protect Rukia from his captain Byakuya, who was Rukia's adopted brother, and him. Also this was where he suffered his first defeat by Ichigo. The memory of the loss, which happened in front of Rukia, cut him as deeply as the order to retrieve Rukia from the mortal world.

He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. The emotions tied to that night and those he felt when Rukia didn't answer swallowed Renji.

Renji didn't want to bring Rukia home as a criminal; he went to bring her home because he missed her. They had been through so much as street kids and as students at the Academy. They were always there for one another then. Regardless of the Kuchiki family adopting her, Rukia was home to him.

The revelation surprised him. What surprised him more was he realized that she was more than that to him: Rukia was his heart. The jealousy and anger he felt every time he saw Ichigo now made sense. Ichigo's ability to advance his skills quicker than him wasn't the cause; it was the kid's closeness to her.

Now, Renji knew the truth, but he didn't feel any better.

Rukia stared into the distance long after his red hair disappeared into the dark. She didn't understand what had happened. Why was he angry with her? What did that mortal adage have to do with anything? He wasn't acting like himself. The Renji she knew was brash, laughed easily, and always there for her. The guy who just left was surly and made no sense.

A cold wind blew through her, licking the hem of her red dress. She shivered and pulled the collar of her down jacket closer.

"I need to find him," she thought.

Rukia ran down the street. When she reached the corner, she kept going straight.