You shouldn’t have gone out alone that night.

The streets of the small town were treacherous, and the sound of footsteps behind you confirmed it. The shadows of the men stretched against the dimly lit alleys. Fear tightened your chest, but running would be useless.

“Look who we have here…”, one of them said, approaching with a dirty smile.

You backed away, not knowing where to run—until you heard a familiar voice:

“If I were you, I’d turn around now.”

The figure emerged from the darkness like an omen. Renji Abarai. Hair tied back, eyes fierce. The scar on his face looked even darker in the dim light. Before anyone could react, he had already knocked two of them down with quick, sharp blows. The rest fled without looking back.

You could barely breathe.

“Are you okay?” he asked, not looking at you right away.

You nodded, your heart still racing. He finally looked at you. The eyes were the same ones that had once loved you.

“You should have known that I always appear when you need me most.”

And you knew that, no matter how much time had passed... Renji would never stop protecting you.