Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Seeds of Destruction ❯ From the bottom of my little black heart ( Chapter 8 )

8. Resurrection - From the bottom of my little black heart

Great silver tears scorched through the grey skies as the weather prepared to announce a stormy afternoon.

The atmosphere was tense in the small chamber Urahara used as a living room and complete verbal silence drummed in everyone's ears as the majority of the cast glances were directed to one person in particular, sitting in between Matsumoto Rangiku and Urahara Kisuke.

A flash of lightening illuminated the dimly lit space, briefly lighting up the grim faces of his guests.

“Why you of all people?” Rukia then suddenly asked, sitting with her arms crossed over her chest, not even bothering to look at the person she was talking to.

“Rukia…” Renji soothingly began, but only met with her stubborn expression.

She shook her head angrily, “I will not just sit here and watch him grin like some perverted maniac while Inoue and Ichigo are somewhere out there in need of our help!”

“Kuchiki-san, this is no time for this,” Hitsugaya Toushirou sternly said, putting his cup of tea on the table. “The hour is grave.”

“But sir—”

The emerald eyed adolescent rested his gaze on her briefly before closing his eyes and averting his face. “I know we had our differences with him, but now isn't the moment for triviality of that kind.”

Rukia fell silent and sighed, but her scowl did not disappear. “Yes sir.”

“Matsumoto gave me a report of what she witnessed with Kurosaki earlier,” the 10th squad captain coolly continued. “Matsumoto?”

“Hai, Taichou,” Rangiku spoke from her spot left from him. She then began to tell all who was present what she saw before and after she intervened in Ichigo's fight with Hollow Orihime.

“She finished by saying that in order to win the upcoming battle, she had to be killed in order to completely destroy any remnant of Kurosaki's Hollow.”

Everyone was silent for a long time as they contemplated those last few words. Expressions ranging from utter disbelieve to pained sadness could be read on all the guests; no one had expected for things to turn this bad so quickly.

“Orihime-chan…” RinRin whimpered, sinking to her knees on the table. Nova and Cloud stepped up to her and brought their arms around her in a consoling embrace while she wept silent tears.

Rukia felt her own tears begin to well up in her eyes and even though she tried her very best to hold them back, she was still grateful when Renji took her in his arms. “Inoue…”

“Inoue-san…” Uryuu whispered, holding a hand in front of his mouth in profound shock and disbelieve. “This can't be happening…”

Chad closed his eyes and bent his head, letting his silence speak for itself.

“Such saddening news…” a sly voice suddenly spoke, “she truly was such a lovely girl…”

Rukia growled at that and detached herself from Renji. “Like you truly care! Like you're truly sorry! Murderer!”

“Kuchiki-san,” Urahara spoke softly, “Please.”

“No!” She cried, standing now and pointing an accusing finger to the silver haired man sitting across from her at the table. “He shouldn't even be here! You did this to her! It's your fault, Ichimaru!”

Renji stood in turn and kept her from loosing total control over her anger, pulling her away. “Rukia, that's enough…!”

“Renji! Renji, let me go!” she softly said, fighting against his iron grip on her, “Let me go! I can't let him—” Her tears then began to roll down her cheeks and she closed her eyes in utter sadness, feeling despair beginning to take over in her mind and in her heart. “He destroyed… a perfectly… innocent life…” She sunk through her knees and fell against Renji who easily picked her up and walked out of the room with her sobbing in his arms.

“Sumimasen,” Gin softly said, looking down at his hands underneath the table, “Perhaps I shouldn't have said anything.”

Urahara sighed softly and then began to move himself upon his feet. “Well, there isn't much we can do about that now, Ichimaru-san,” he walked over to the shoji door and closed it. “But time is pressing, so I would like to get on with our little chat.”

“Hai,” Gin docilely said with a nod.

“Excuse me for interrupting too,” Uryuu suddenly spoke, turning to Yoruichi, Rangiku and Toushirou, “but I was wondering if perhaps Kurotsuchi-Taichou gave a possible solution to Inoue-san's process of Hollowification?”

His question met with a wall of reluctant silence and the Quincy's hope for a satisfying answer flew out the window a moment later. If even the mighty Soul Society couldn't come up with an answer, then what did this mean now?

“How about Ichigo?” Chad tried in turn, “Does anyone know where he went?”

Rangiku shook her head and folded her arms underneath her ample bosom, “I don't think we need to worry about him, Sado. He just needs to be alone for a while. Orihime-chan meant a lot to him.”

“Hai desu!” Cloud enthusiastically said, walking up to him, “Ichigo-san has this knack of showing up at the right place at the right time! He'll surface sooner or later! Let's no worry about him!”

Chad and Uryuu cracked a smile at that. Though everything seemed to be working against them right now, they realised that now wasn't the time to back away from the upcoming fight, but to prepare themselves for the battles up ahead, just like Ichigo probably was doing right now.

Toushirou bent his head and silently sighed, seemingly sunken into deep thought.

“Taichou?” Rangiku wondered, having noticed his calculating gaze.

The white haired Shinigami looked up and fixed the former 3th Squad Captain of the Gotei 13. “Before leaving from Soul Society, Kurotsuchi-Taichou told me that a Plus infected by a Hollow only becomes one in turn, if the proper conditions are met.”

“Proper conditions?” Uryuu echoed.

Yoruichi nodded, “A Plus can only become a Hollow if there are elements from his past life keeping him from moving on, like regrets or unfinished business…” she let her sentence die out quietly as something came up in her mind and turned to look at her blond haired partner now sitting near the shoji door. “Kisuke…”

Urahara didn't respond and hid his face underneath his bucket hat. “Ichimaru-san… I assume he got hold of those notes as well, eh?”

Gin nodded solemnly, “He's a big fan of you work, Urahara-san…”

“Departing from the supposition that Inoue isn't the kind of person to leave regrets behind her,” Toushirou spoke, eying Urahara intently, “I suppose that Aizen must've done something to her while she was still held captive in Las Noches, am I right?”

Urahara turned to him and fixed the young captain for a few moments, trying to find the words to tell them that he had unwillingly had a part in this new turn of events again. “Hollownized blood.”

“Hollownized blood?” Rangiku whispered in utter disgust. “Nande—”

“In her food and in her beverages,” Gin softly informed, “He would add small amounts of Hollow blood, affected by the Houkyouku to keep her docile enough and to slowly, but surely attain a rudimentary form of Hollowification.”

“So he tried to change her back then?” Chad wondered.

Urahara sighed shook his head, “Even if he had continued to feed her the blood for ten years, she only would've chosen their side, not completely transformed into one of them.”

“It would've switched her sense of morality,” Toushirou whispered.

“Sou desu…” Gin concurred.

“The very first tests I made after creating the Houkyouku involved the blood of slaughtered Hollows,” Urahara explained, “During my research, I came to the conclusion that if the altered hollow blood was injected into a normal soul, that soul would become 10 to 15 times stronger and exceed the Reiatsu levels of a normal Bankai form, even if it never actually attained Bankai. But, the price to pay for that was to allow the soul to be responsive to Hollows, or in other words, their Saketsu, which is the booster of their Spiritual Power, would begin to corrode with time, rendering them to a near Hollow status.

Aizen must have given Inoue-san enough of it to make her receptive for the hollow essence Kurosaki's Hollow spilled within her.” He concluded, “And that's what Kurotsuchi-Taichou must've meant.”

“So, there's really no way…?” Rangiku whispered quietly.

“The time that is left before she completely turns depends on her own strength….” Urahara answered, “But even so, if not stopped in time, her changing will be inevitable.”

“Oh God…”

“But, Urahara-san,” Uryuu exclaimed, “What about the baby?”

The former 12th Squad Captain shook his head resolutely. “Now I know she was never pregnant.”

A shocked silence engulfed the living room.

“Demo,” RinRin whispered shakily, “we all saw—”

“Chigau,” Urahara continued, “there was no child. Her body merely reacted as such because that's what the Hollow wanted for all of us to believe. It was the hollow essence before it merged with her soul.”

“How come you never realized it before?” Toushirou asked sternly.

“I asked myself that same question just a few moments ago,” Urahara whispered, turning his head towards Yoruichi who sat herself next to him now to show her silent form of support. “And I honestly only came up with one hypothesis so far.”

Toushirou's eyes spread wide as he realised what the older man meant.

Gin's grin disappeared as well and he sighed.

Urahara looked up and his right eye glistened underneath the shade of his bucket hat.

“Aizen.”

“Doushite?” Rukia whispered now that Renji had placed her on an empty futon a few rooms away from the living room. “Don't you feel the same?”

Renji sighed and kneeled next to her on the floor, reaching out to wipe away her tears. “He was working undercover for Yamamoto-sama, Rukia. He's been cleansed of all his misdoings…”

Rukia let herself fall back on the futon and held on to her forehead. “He's an evil person, Renji… I know it. I can feel it!”

The redheaded Shinigami took her left hand in his and kissed its palm, closing his eyes. “Mou ii, Rukia… I know you're worried, we all are, but Ichimaru-san resigned from his post as a captain and chose to have his Saketsu sealed off so his Reiatsu wouldn't be a threat to anyone. For him to come back into the living world is a perilous enterprise because every Hollow will come after him now and he has practically no means of defence.”

Rukia turned away from him, staring at the full moon that shone through the little window of the room. “Don't defend him, Renji. I've hated him for so long; I can't just shake it off like that. Why did he even bother coming if he knew he'd be but a burden to all of us?”

“Because he knows things about Hollowification that we don't and if Inoue is back in Hueco Mundo, he can be of great aide.”

“So what?” She whispered, still not looking at him, “Is this some kind of a repentance trip for him? Does he expect for us to see him like a hero for doing this?!”

“Calm down, Koboshi…” Renji gently spoke, making her turn her head at the mention of his nickname for her. “We don't have a choice right now… ”

She sat up and crawled into his lap, holding him tightly. “What are we going to do? Inoue… and Ichigo…” A soft kiss was pressed on her forehead and she smiled softly at the calming effect his hold had on her.

“Don't give up… we're all here to find a solution.”

“We don't even know where Ichigo went…” She continued, closing her eyes as Renji began to rock them back and forth slowly.

Renji took a deep breath and laid his eyes on the pale moon outside. “He'll turn up sooner of later. Don't worry about that for now.”

“Renji…” She whispered, holding on to the folds of his black kimono, “Why is all of this happening… How do humans maintain these feelings of love and friendship when those feelings can hurt them the worst?”

Renji closed his eyes and held her tighter, smiling softly in her hair. “Because, those feelings they have bring a little speck of light in an otherwise cold and dark world. It's their hope, I think, and their strength. It's what gives them the potential to be great…”

"Taken straight out of the Anthropology Manual 6.3?" She chuckled with him, nuzzling his throat and breathing in his masculine scent with a small smile. Rukia then buried herself deeper into his embrace and took a shaky breath. “Before I met Inoue, I had no close female friends. I used to think that friendship and companionship only meant burdening. After Kaien-dono died, I didn't think I could entrust anyone with my feelings of friendship, I was afraid of getting hurt, so I preferred to keep my distances…”

“Even with me, eh?” Renji softly spoke, now looking down at her and brushing a strand of her jet-black hair out of her sad eyes.

She nodded. “When the Kuchiki-clan had accepted me, I used to think that it was best to forget about the friendship we had had so I wouldn't feel the pain of knowing that I might never see you again.”

Renji nodded softly in understanding and took her back into his arms.

“You, Ichigo and Inoue showed me that it's okay to depend on others and to share each other's pain. You were my friends; I was able to count on you…”

“I don't know much about this love thing, but I do know that, when stuff like this happens, it gives us hope and faith. Aren't you the one who kept having faith in Ichigo when all seemed hopeless?”

“Yeah, but Renji—”

The redhead shook his head, “This is no different. We know he's in pain, we know he's lost the woman he loves, but I know that guy as much as you think you know him and you were right before; he's not the kind of guy who just sits around and feels sorry for himself.”

Rukia sighed and looked up at him as her eyes watered up. “Renji…”

Renji bent down and pressed his lips against hers softly, wiping away her tears with his thumb. “It'll all be alright.”

She sniffled and leant into his touch. “Then why do I feel like something horrible is about to happen?”

Like a vision taken straight out of a romantic fairytale, her inert body was laid onto a bed of white flowers Hachigen had made appear in a last token of respect for her. He then kneeled next to her as in prayer before stretching out his arms over her to conjure a transparent coffin.

Shinji rolled his eyes from Hachi to Ichigo standing at the other end of the hangar and sighed silently.

Ten minutes ago, Ichigo walked into their lair carrying the lifeless body of Inoue Orihime in his arms. Shinji hadn't felt the need to pry him with questions; something in the boy's Reiatsu told him what he already had felt the moment he stepped through Hachi's barrier.

That idiot lost control of his Hollow.

Ichigo wouldn't ask for help, not in a million years, the blond Vaizard knew that. His Shinigami pride wouldn't allow him to.

He came to say goodbye to her. To the woman he fell in love with.

Shinji closed his eyes and rested the back of his head against the wall.

He had warned that imbecile about this.

Too many times.

“Did Hachi finish that barrier?”

Shinji turned his head to the black haired young girl standing next to him now. “Do you think he knows?”

Lisa laid her eyes on the glowing coffin Orihime was resting in and shook her head. “The look in his eyes said enough. He is ignorant.”

“It's not like it would change much now,” he thoughtfully whispered, gazing over at Hachi once more. “Telling him would probably make him go do stupid things again.”

“The way things are now, he's most likely to do something stupid in the upcoming hours.”

They both turned now and noticed Kensei standing a few meters away, scratching the back of his head with a slightly annoyed yawn.

“Where are the others?” Lisa asked.

“Down below,” Kensei answered, approaching them and stopping to watch Hachi's work. “He's going to go after it, you know, Shinji.”

Shinji gave an annoyed grunt and rolled his eyes. “Why is it, that when it comes to that guy, everybody presumes I'm the one responsible for him?!”

“Unfortunately,” Lisa spoke, completely ignoring her comrade's comment, “there's nothing he can learn from us, he is no longer a Vaizard.”

“Like you're truly sorry…” Shinji muttered bitterly.

“Ichi really seemed to care for her a lot…” a little voice suddenly sounded near them and a green haired girl popped up from behind Kensei.

The white haired Vaizard crossed his arms over his chest. “He's brought her here for keepsake, just in case he'd be able to bring her back.”

Mashiro frowned cutely and looked up at Shinji questioningly. “Is that still an option?”

Shinji remained silent as he watched how Ichigo walked over to the transparent light coffin. “That's not up to me to answer.”

Ichigo rested his eyes on her, watching her seemingly dormant face. A part of him still expected for her to wake up any minute and say something that would catch him totally off guard.

A minim smirk appeared on his lips and he bent his head at the melancholy of the situation.

No matter what anyone said, this was still his fault. He knew Shinji wouldn't reprimand him about it, but the facts were what they were: The blond Vaizard had warned him about the dangers of emotional attachment. Shinji had told him to be careful concerning disembowelling emotions such as love and hate, he had told him to keep them under reasonable control seen as how he only recently learned how to control his Hollow. It took decades of training to completely subdue ones Hollow, even after having cast it to the deepest reaches of ones soul.

He knew all of that, he had paid attention to the lessons, but—

“I like this new you… you look more relaxed… Carefree, almost…”

“That's the effect you have on me, Hime…”

“I'm glad then… that I can give you such feelings. Thank you, Ichigo-kun…for letting me.”

He had wanted to believe it; he had wanted to prove to himself and to the others that he could handle it. He had wanted to be freed of his constant troubled mind. Just once, he had wanted to feel carefree… to not be that goddamned hero everyone so desperately needed.

She was the only one who had made him feel like that. She had set him free.

Ichigo gulped and lifted his eyes up her body again, feeling an ardent shame drown his insides.

He had been so selfish.

And this was the result of it all.

But he would fix it and Orihime would suffer no more because of the love she carried for him. No one else would suffer because they cared about him, no one else would die. No more blood would be smeared onto his hands.

It would all end.

“Hachi-san,” he whispered, catching the large man's attention. “How long can you preserve her body like that?”

Hachi turned his head back to Orihime with a thoughtful expression. “She hasn't endured major traumas and her tissues are almost in impeccable state. I can keep her body from decomposing further for at least a week, but Kurosaki-san her Chain of Fate—”

“Arigatou, Hachi-san,” Ichigo softly said, walking around the coffin and kneeling next to her head. He let the back of his right hand caress her pale and cold left cheek before he bent over and pressed a kiss on her forehead. “Hold on just a little bit longer, Hime. Wait for me just a little bit longer.”

The dying sun coloured the skies red in the aftermath of the deluge of earlier, slowly dissappearing behind the high buildings of the city in the distance.

The scent of fresh raindrops lingered in the air as a blonde haired woman stepped out to the little garden behind Urahara's small shoten. With small steps she traced the path of stepstones displayed beneath her towards the fish pond in the back of the serene garden. She let her eyes go over the swimming koi varieties in the water for a while, feeling the need for some tranquil moments away from the constant tormenting thoughts her mind pestered her with.

She had been in utterly shocked when he had proven himself to still live after the destruction of Las Noches...

Gin Ichimaru, ex Captain of the 3rd squad of the Gotei 13, presumed traitor of the Soul Society, Aizen Sousuke's right hand and childhood friend to her...

"Sayonara, Rangiku... Gomen."

"Gin..." Her lips formed the name, but no sound passed them. Those words he had whispered to her on that day had burned within her, scorching away the image she always had had of him.

Ever since they were children, he had in some way taken care of her, always made sure that she was protected when the fangs of orphanhood bit themselves into her naked skin. Never had she had to worry about food or shelter when he was with her and as the years passed by and they both grew older, her feelings of self-worth and gratitude towards him only gained in magnitude. She trusted him with her life; something she had never experienced with anyone else. Back then, his smiling face was a genuineness and a heartfelt reaction, not the facade he now wielded in order to hide his underlying intentions.

She wondered if she truly knew him after all. Doubt had clouded up all certainty and only the memories of how things once were had been left on her scarred heart.

Rangiku cracked a smile and sighed. "I'm acting so stupid..." How many times had she told herself that she wouldn't let herself drown into nostalgia like this? What happened, happened and there was no need to go regret deeds that had been done.

She kneeled next to the pond and reached inside a fold of her kimono to take out some bread crumbles she had saved from dinner so she could now throw them to the fish. She watched them gather to the surface to eat for a few moments and then sighed, having decided to go back inside the house.

Gin was standing by the porch's door, leaning against a wooden pole as he observed her silently. "Like a star shining brightly in the twilight..." he then whispered softly, catching her attention.

Rangiku turned her head in his direction and began to stand. "Ichimaru-san..."

"You hurt my feelings, Rangiku..." He said with a saddened tone in his voice, moving himself to sit on the porch now. "But I expected for your forgiveness to have the highest price of them all."

She didn't answer him, but simply walked on.

"Rangiku," Gin whispered, standing now as she was about to pass him. " I didn't get a chance to talk to you back in there… "

Rangiku held back a gasp at his sudden movement and halted briefly. "Ichimaru-san," she insisted as he kept her from moving on with an arm stretched out in front of her.

"Have I lost it completely?" He whispered almost pleadingly, not looking at her, "Ne, Rangiku, is it really gone?"

She closed her eyes and bent her head, bringing one arm up to his still holding her back. "I'm not sure if it really was there to begin with... The person I gave it to doesn't seem to exist anymore, Ichimaru-san," Rangiku whispered, pushing his arm aside now and walking back inside the house.

A new grin formed on his features and he sat himself back down. "Then you won't be there to hold me back when I walk away again, huh?" The smirk then dissappeared as suddenly as it appeared and he bent his head. "This time, I truly am alone."

The sun set in the distance and the darkness slowly crept closer for the day's transition into night.

The rain had fallen once more during nigh time and had left the asphalt paths of the small park wet and abandoned in the early hours of the next day.

Minding her steps and controlling her breathing and tempo, a young black haired woman ran her daily jog. Up beat tracks played directly into her ear and she let herself go into the rhythmic of the current song, briefly forgetting about the troublesome night she left behind her.

About a week ago, Tatsuki received a letter from her best friend in which she told her that she left for some remote all girls college. Not only had it been unexpected to receive such news from her, but it had also caused a growing feeling of worry to surface within her.

It hadn't been the first time her friend left abruptly like this and the last time nearly ended in her being killed. If it hadn't been for her boyfriend bringing her back, she wouldn't have known what to do without her. Tatsuki had discovered that both Orihime and Ichigo possessed supernatural abilities and that the world they belonged to was far beyond her level of understanding. She usually felt very protective of her best friend, but when it came to matters like white masked monsters and sword flinging individuals, she preferred not to get in the way.

So, when she read the letter she received from Orihime, she secretly knew it had something to do with those other matters and that she'd be safe with Ichigo.

But last night, when she came back from a karate tournament, she could've sworn to have seen Ichigo in his Shinigami form leaping over a roof, holding someone in his arms. From the flailing light hair he held against his chest, she had deduced it to be Orihime, but she had felt something strange about it. Usually, she always could sense Orihime's presence, but when Ichigo flew over her last night, she couldn't feel Orihime's aura even though she could've sworn that she was the one in Ichigo's arms.

When she went to check at Orihime's apartment, she only found a notice pinned against her door saying that the apartment was up for renting.

She had shrugged her suspiciousness off to weariness and returned home for a good night of sleep. Yet her dreams seemed to have chosen to torment her further and by the time it was morning, her initial worry had taken over thoughts and feelings.

“Ohayou, Karin,” she said into the phone after she had dialled the Kurosaki's house phone number, “is Ichigo home? It's Tatsuki.”

“Sure.”

A few screeching `Ichi-nii's' later, she received a groggy sounding Ichigo on the other line.

“Orihime? Yeah, of course she's fine. We talked over the phone last night. She seems to like it at her new school—”

At that Tatsuki had raised a sceptic eyebrow. “I saw you flying over rooftops last night with her in your arms.”

“Last night? You must've seen me rescue someone else. Orihime is not here, Tatsuki. What are you insinuating?”

“I—” she halted in her words as she thought about his words. What was she insinuating anyway? Orihime told her she left for a new school, so why was she even questioning it? “Ichigo,” she then whispered, “If something was wrong, you'd tell me, right?”

There was a soft sigh on the other side of the line and then he chuckled, “You worry too much, baka. She's fine.”

“Yeah,” Tatsuki smiled briefly, but still didn't feel completely reassured. “If you say so… you're more capable of protecting her anyway, eh?”

“Yeah… Bye Tatsuki.”

“Bye.”

Tatsuki frowned slightly at that. Those last words of his had sounded almost… sad?

The phone call hadn't had the effect she had been hoping for and therefore, she chose to go clear her mind with a good jogging session, and that explained the reason she was now jumping over a puddle of mud.

Thick drops of water dripped down the hanging leaves of the trees above her and she breathed in the moist and fresh air. Though it was now mid-March and officially spring, it was still a bit too cold for this time of the year.

A sudden strong wind blew through the trees, making the leaves rustle in the restless air. Tatsuki shielded her eyes against the unexpected meteorological change and took a few steps back. “Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all…?”

She turned off her mp3-player and sighed, bending over to catch her breath.

A pair of black, point tip leather shoes then suddenly appeared in her eye sight and Tatsuki slowly lifted her head to see who it was that so rudely invaded her personal space. Her gaze went up a pair of knee high boots and a pair of black skin tight jeans. A bright scarlet jacket was the next thing she saw, covering a black button shirt. She took a step back when she recognised the impressive cleavage and gasped in surprise when she finally rested her eyes on an all too familiar face.

“Hey Tatsuki!”

Tatsuki was suddenly taken into a tight embrace. “Orihime!” She lifted her arms up her body in response to her amicable greeting. “I thought you were at Nakase! What are you doing here?”

Orihime giggled and let go of her, shaking her long light brown hair back. “I just went to check it out; I'll be going over there in a week to get settled in. Didn't I tell you so in the letter?”

Tatsuki only smiled and shrugged, “I'm just so glad you're here! You left so suddenly!” She then growled and made a fist. “I'm going to kill that useless boyfriend of yours!”

Orihime cocked her head to the side and giggled, “Doushite?”

“He never told me you were coming back today! We talked over the phone this morning and he didn't tell me anything!”

Orihime chuckled and shrugged, “Maybe he wanted it to be a surprise of some sort.”

“Yeah right, that guy has lousy ways of surprising people.” Tatsuki rolled her eyes. Then something hit her. “Demo, Orihime, where will you be staying? I passed by your apartment—”

“That's all taken care of, Tatsuki,” The brown haired girl said with a soft grin. “I'm staying at a hotel with a few friends from school.”

“Oh,” Tatsuki said, feeling a little disappointed. “You already made friends?”

“Ne, Tatsuki-chan, don't be jealous!” Orihime happily exclaimed, "I just thought it'd be better this way so I wouldn't disturb the peace at your house."

"Hmm…" Tatsuki pouted slightly but soon melted before Orihime's apologizing smile. "Okay, but I get visitation rights!"

"You got it!" Orihime said with a smirk.

"So then, have you seen Ichigo yet?"

The other girl shook her head, "Let him wait a while longer, you're the one I missed a lot, Tatsuki."

"Come on," Tatsuki said, "so you can tell me all about that new school of yours," she let her eyes go over Orihime's unusual get up with an impressed expression, "and your new clothing style at my place."

Orihime chuckled and they began to walk towards the exit of the park. She hooked her right arm into her friend's left one before she cast a look behind her briefly. She then turned again and smiled a satisfied smile that went unknown by Tatsuki.

Hidden between the thick branches of a tall tree, a white spiky haired young man watched the two women walk away, a growing sneer appearing on his lips.

Her eyes blinked open with the first ray of the sun that managed to break through the packed sky and shine into the room she occupied, the memories of the past night still present in the back of her head.

Rukia sighed out softly, taking in the position she was in. A warm hand was resting against her stomach and spooning her against a strong and muscled body. Her nose picked up his scent and for a fleeting second she remembered the one good thing that happened the past night.

She placed a hand over his and smiled, feeling how he took a deep breath, shifted a little and sighed. "Ohayou…"

"Aa… slept well?" Renji asked groggily, leaning up onto his left elbow so he could look at her with a small smirk.

Rukia glanced up at him briefly and vainly oppressed a smile. "Thank you…" she then whispered, looking up to the window again.

"My pleasure," he whispered back, brushing a few strands of her hair off her right cheek. Renji smiled lovingly at her, watching her close her eyes as she sunk deeper into her private thoughts. She was still worried, he could easily tell and he knew that no words he could come up with would change that because he was worried too. "Rukia."

She turned her head to his still hovering above hers.

"Let's go search for them later on," he offered, "Hitsugaya-taichou and Rangiku are going to stay here to report to the Soul Society and I think that Urahara-san is going to investigate on the missing Gigai. Why don't you and I go search for Ichigo and Inoue-san?"

Rukia's eyes lit up at that and she nodded. "But, where to look first?"

The redhead gave her a knowing smile and brought his head closer to hers, "Last time Ichigo disappeared, where did he go?"

"The Vaizard's lair," Rukia answered with a hopeful smile.

Renji nodded, "It's worth a shot, right?"

She grinned and brought a hand up into his loose hair, "I never thought you'd be so insightful, I must admit."

He gave her a crooked smile and stole a kiss from her lips, "I never thought I'd see you act so feminine. Not in a million years."

"W-what?!" she exclaimed, pushing her off of him. "I was just worried!"

Renji laughed and crawled on top of her again, rendering her defenseless as he pinned her wrists on each side of her head onto the futon with his hands. "I wasn't only talking about that…" he bent over again and enmeshed their lips into a sultry kiss. "I don't know if it was because you were worried or not, but I loved the way you felt against me last night."

Rukia blushed and opened her eyes to stare into his warm chocolate ones. "Renji…"

"I can't stand to see you tormenting yourself like that…" he whispered, trailing kisses the long her jaw line. "I want to be there to take those worries away, Rukia… Please let me."

"Renji…" Rukia smiled, "I don't mean to be like this… I'm still learning to depend on others and you're the only one that makes me feel like…" she chuckled in embarrassment and rolled her eyes as she realized how sappy she sounded.

"Come on…" Renji encouraged with a smile of his own, "I'm here now, just say it… Feel like what?"

"I'm not used to this!" she laughed, "I'm not good at explaining how I feel…"

"Daijobou," he laughed in turn, "then just show me."

Rukia blushed even harder and turned her head away. "Wasn't last night enough?"

"Last night was last night. It's morning now."

She chuckled. "Smartass…"

"Then let me go first, okay?" he whispered, rubbing the tip of their noses together.

Before she could even answer him, he captured her lips again and kissed her gently; making gentle movements of his lips so she could follow his lead. Then, he tentatively let his tongue brush against her lips, taking advantage of her soft gasp to explore her mouth with it. She groaned softly at the warm tongue tenderly caressing hers and a flash of heat that pooled into the pit of her stomach made her arch slightly, earning her an approving grunt from his part. Her hands instinctively dug themselves into his broad upper arms and she gasped at the little movement of hips he produced underneath the covers.

"R-Renji…!"

"Shh…" he soothingly whispered against her cheek, "It's alright… do you feel good?"

"Hnnn…" Rukia arched again and bit her lower lip at the pleasure that now coursed through her system. "This is so not the time for this…"

"Then why are you making all those sexy sounds…?"

She blushed harder at that and hit him over his head, “J-just shut up…”

Renji chuckled deep in his throat and kissed her again; rolling them over the futon so she was on top of him. “You know, I think I prefer you expressing your feelings this way than with words.”

A small vein popped on the back of her head and she grinned evilly, “Oh really?”

“Yes, most definitely,” he answered back with a satisfied smile.

“Then let's see how much you prefer this over a simple word.” She suddenly grabbed his crotch in her right hand and gave a harsh squeeze, making the Vice-Captain of the 6th Squad squeal in horrible pain.

Rukia demounted him and quickly made her way to the shoji door, laughing her way out of the room as he set in the pursuit with a murderous glint in his eyes.

The skies were still packed with the heavy grey clouds from the past night as the day progressed into late morning, as if wondering whether they'd let it rain again or not.

A middle aged man was standing on the most southern bridge tiding over Karasu River, leaning over the rampart to look at the dark water that tranquilly flowed beneath him. He sighed softly and stood up right again, placing his hands in the pockets of his black pants.

"Dad."

He turned to look at the orange haired youth that slowly approached him and gave a stern nod of his head. "How is she?"

Ichigo shifted his gaze to the side and sighed out silently. "Hachi-san is still keeping her body from completely dying."

"Then we have 5 days, at most."

Ichigo nodded silently.

"Let me tell you this in advance, Ichigo," Isshin seriously said, giving his son a brief glance. "And don't think I'm only saying this because you're my son and I'd have a lot of explaining to do if something went wrong afterwards, but I'm warning you. The training I'm going to subdue you to will most likely kill you if you don't manage to adapt yourself to it the moment it begins."

There was a short silence after those words and then the young Shinigami took a step forwards. "If I don't succeed with this, then I'm not worthy of all these powers that have been given to me," Ichigo replied with an equally serious expression. "I have responsibilities and I'm not planning on running away from them."

Isshin only gave him a testing look and then turned away from him, snapping his fingers.

A burst of wind then suddenly blew over the bridge and Ichigo took in a steadying position against it, keeping his right arm up to shelter his eyes.

Next to his father a black hole materialized and the direction of the wind shifted, now sucking the air into it instead of pushing it away.

Ichigo cast his father a doubtful stare that got returned with a reassuring one and he quit fighting the pulling force, letting himself be sucked into the darkness of the hole.

Isshin followed his son soon after, walking through the dimensional gate calmly before it disappeared into a haze of white light.

Japanese Vocabulary List

-Aa / Hai : Yes

-Arigatou : Thanks

-Baka : Idiot

-Chigau : Wrong/different

-Daijobou: Alright

-Demo: But

-Doushite : Why?

-Gomen / Sumimasen: I'm sorry/ Excuse me

-Hai desu/ Sou desu : That's right

-Koboshi: Little star

-Mou ii : That's enough

-Nande : What

-Ne: an Interjection that can be loosely translated in English as `So', `Well', `And?', `Hey' or `No?', depending on its position in the phrase

-Ohayou : Good morning

-Sayonara : Goodbye

-Shoten: Shop

-Taichou : Captain

Additional Facts (Facts I learned myself while writing this chapter)

1. Bleach Facts

The Saketsu, or Spirit boost, is where the Chain of Fate is attached to on Spirits, when damaged, it will reduce the victim's Spiritual Power considerably, and while it's very difficult to destroy it without taking the Hakusui with it, it is rumored that the total destruction of the Saketsu is what creates Hollows.

The Hakusui, the "Soul's Soul", is roughly located in the same location as where the heart would be on a living being. It is the source of Spiritual Strength, enough damage sustained there would remove the victim's spiritual power. In addition, it's total destruction would spell the certain end of that soul for all eternity...

Excerpts taken from the Bleach/ AdventSoul Forum

2. Japanese Facts

In Japan, almost all schools run a three-term school year. Most schools have a first term from April 1 to mid-July. The exact date of the beginning of the summer break and its duration vary across regions, but commonly the break lasts for about one or two months. The break originated to avoid the heat in summer, so elementary and middle schools in HokkaidÅ tend to have a shorter summer break than the rest of schools in Japan. A second term lasts from early September to late December with a winter break at the end of the year. The term is followed by a third term from early January to early March and a brief spring break lasting several weeks. The graduation ceremony occurs in March, and the enrollment ceremony in early April.

Excerpt taken from Answers . com

Whoa, so there you have it, you guys! Yay, I'm back (finally)! I hope you enjoyed the opening for season 2 of this story (lol)! A lot of things got revealed here, but the story is no way near completion yet!

Some of you may have heard it from my `secretary' on msn, but I recently had a climbing accident and uh… my writing process got slowed down quite a bit by it, which has resulted in the fact that I won't be able to update every week on this story like I previously used to because I haven't defined the upcoming chapters yet even if I know for myself what's next. So I'll be updating sporadically from now on, sumimasen!

Honto ni arigatou though for the amount of reviews and levels of support I got so far for this! And rest assure, I'm not giving up on this! Not ever!

Ja ne!

Upcoming chapter: 9. Majestic Consort - The Obsidian Queen

To be Continued…