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The sun peeked out from under the blushing petals of the tree. His sun-kissed skin softly glowed in the luminous bath of rays, showering him. The streaky fingers of gold tickled his skin in a warm grasp. The balmy face of his enjoyed the sight of the large, fluffily painted pearl clouds plastered against the canvas of blue in the high rise morning.
The mammoth of a tree was towering over him. A barrier to nothing as there were no dangers at the moment.
This place was a resting, tranquil place for him. He came here to ease up on all of his worries. To take a fresh breath of air. Coming out, enjoying the mildly toasty sunlight blanketing him. He didn’t have to worry about anyone or anything, it was all just about him and only him.
He would enjoy the solitariness and peace that came with being in that area. To get away from the other Shinigami would be just a mere thought. Thing is, no one knows about the tree, except for a select few.
He had just been in an extremely grueling and strenuous battle. Most of the focus was on him, there had been extremely powerful hollows with high capabilities. They had worn him down, giving him major injuries, such as a large blow on his right causing him to form a great scar.
Step, Step
Pitter, Patter
Behind him, walking, was the elegant woman who called herself Unohana Retsu. The Captain of the 4th Division. For she, was an experienced healer, and veiled behind her sweet smile was a ruthless killer.
Retsu had frequented this place often, as she put it to use for her meditation. There had been times in which she crossed paths with Renji, concluding in the same experience soon to come.
She sat behind the red-haired man, her legs folded to the side in a gentle and graceful manner, her clothing ruffling on the soft-green sunlit grass.
“How are you, Renji?” she muttered with that soft voice of hers
“Oh, I’m fine, and you, m’lady?” He turned around to face her and looked into her eyes, beautiful as always.
He gently smiled and shyly looked down, his eyelashes being revealed to the other.
Unohana put her hand around his chin and lightly lifted his head up.
“Is there anything troubling your mind, young one?”
She rubbed her smooth finger over her chin, making Renji more comfortable.
“No, nothing at all, ma’am,” He lifted his head higher. “What about you? Are you ok?
“Yes, I am faring in quite a positive way”
Renji’s insides fluttered on the inside. His face heated up with an innocent warmth. Rosy cheeks swirled and eyes lazily fluttered around.
“You look pretty tense, Abarai,” She said with a worried expression. “Would you care for a massage?”
Renji nodded his head
Unohana delicately placed her hands on his shoulders, sending a tingle of ecstasy down him. She slowly turned him around, facing away from her.
He once again admired the sight of the falling blossoms. The buildings were distancing themselves away, soon to be shrouded by a mist of blue and grey. His eyes spectacled the particles of gold raining on him. The warmth once again sprinkled him.
Unohana place her hands on Renji's shoulders and circled her thumbs. Like molding clay, she eased up his stiff shoulders.
Whirling and Swirling
Unohana placed the pads of her thumb and the palms of her hand on either side of Renji's spine. She circled whilst moving up. She leans in to apply slightly more pressure in hopes of softening him up.
She then placed her hands on the base of his neck and kneaded. This went on for a while until she was positive that she had mitigated his muscles and alleviated his mind.
“Done!”
“Thanks, I needed that,” murmured Renji as he rubbed the back of his neck.
The Captain simply smiled.
Click
Unohana’s nails lightly touched each other and made a small clicking sound. She put her fingers on Renji’s hair tie and slowly pulled it down, making sure not to yank his hair.
She set the tie down to her right side and turned towards Renji.
His hair was a beautiful sea of red agate silk. Unohana weaved her fingers into Renji’s hair and maneuvered them to his scalp. She started to massage his head, letting thin strands of hair thread through her fingers.
Renji’s mind started to go fuzzy and blank due to the bliss tingling within him. It relieved him of any pains and mal thoughts running amok enclosed in the bounds of his soul.
“That feels good” He stated, whilst rolling his shoulders back.
Unohana smiled once more, “That’s a good thing to hear, Abarai” She combed her fingers once more through the rich locks and released them of her grasp.
“Hm?”
“Oh Renji, would you mind if I were to braid your hair?”
“Not at all!, I actually wanted to feel what it’s like to have a braid” He perked up and smiled a great smile.
Unohana separated the young one’s hair into three large strands, from side to side. She started with the leftmost lock and carried it over to the middle one. Her nails clicked against each other as she did this, with everyone, at least. She then carried the rightmost strand over to the middle one, the strand that used to be the one on the left.
She crisscrossed and weaved the strands, alternating and repeating the process. It took a while because his hair was unbelievably long, and it had grown plenty from the days when he was a young Shinigami. Unohana had tightened the sides a couple of times while going down, to keep everything secure, but still permeable.
She had braided the river of red till the ends. Unohana grabbed the hair tie and wrapped it around the periphery, securing the fiery-carmine ropes.
“Voila!” Unohana exclaimed as she gingerly let the braid loose, dangling, draping down from the mid-section of his head.
“Thank you, Taichou, I can’t see it but I’m sure it’s beautiful, just like you” he timidly batted his eyelids, making his lashes flutter.
The Captain chuckled, “You are quite the romantic one, Abarai” She lightly put her hands over his shoulders. “Oh! Something just came to mind” remarked, her finger pointing up making her idea seem more credible.
“Close your eyes” her warm voice whispered
And so he did.
Unohana seized a cherry blossom, dancing gracefully in the wind, in the compact form of a ballerina.
She gently placed the flower in Renji’s hair, moving some of his strands to keep the flower in a snug position and to keep them from sinking. Unohana did this with a couple more flowers, placing them in slightly spontaneous but composed positions.
“The final touch is complete! Please, turn around Abarai.”
Renji turned around, his gaze averting and meeting that of the sweet eyes of the Captain.
“You look beautiful, young one,” The flowers, a slight tint of his hair and eyes complimented each other.
The soft tone and form of the petals contrasted the ragged, sharp-edged tattoos adorning his face and chest.
Renji beamed a small smile, knowing that he was relieved, and so was she.
The wind pushed past his worries, any bad memories, and with them, brought petals, the ones that would stay with him forever.
Cherishable recollections stored in the library of the mind.
Forever and ever.
