Disclaimer - I don't own Bleach.
Dedicated to Superplough. My faithful reader and reviewer. :-D
"We'll always be together, right, Shun-kun?" Her blue eyes were huge with concern. She heard her father's shouts in the middle of the night.
Shunsui stretched out on the grass. "Of course."
"And we'll always be friends?"
He looked at her questionably. She was shorter than he and her black hair just barely swept her shoulders. They were very good friends. "Yes."
"Pinkie promise?" She held her pinkie out to him.
"Promise, Haruko," he said as he twined his pinkie with hers.
…
"Where's Haruko?" Shunsui asked his mother. He hadn't seen her in over a week and was beginning to worry about her.
"You don't have to worry about her. She's not coming back. Haruko has gone to live somewhere else."
"No." Shunsui couldn't believe it. He couldn't keep his promise if she was gone. He ran up and down the streets outside calling her name but she never replied.
…
Shunsui hadn't wanted to go to the Shinigami Academy but he had excelled and made friends here. He had talent and skill. The old man had been impressed with him. There was also an abundance of women at the Academy. While Shunsui had found many he liked to spend time with, he had still felt like something was missing.
…
Her wedding had been gorgeous. Married life had been bliss. The cheating had been unexpected and heartbreaking. Looking back, the divorce had freed her.
Haruko left her home in America and went to Japan. She had always felt a pull to Japan but she had never been. She had taken Japanese classes and excelled. To her, it had been like riding a bike. She knew how to do it; she just had to get back on the bike. The Japanese language flowed off her tongue as if she had been speaking it all her life.
Haruko walked under the cherry blossom trees with a smile on her face. She felt at home here. She had finally found her place in life.
…
Shunsui looked at his beeping cell phone. How long had it been since he had performed soul burial? He couldn't remember. He shouldn't have even been here. It was Urahara's fault for holding him up. He flash stepped to the address. This soul possessed powerful reiatsu and Shunsui knew he had to get it to Soul Society before a hollow showed up.
Glancing around the hotel room, he began to piece together what had happened. He peered at the wine glass. There was something wrong with the liquid inside. Shunsui was sure it had been tampered with. He saw the woman sprawled out on the bed. A wine glass lay haphazardly on the floor. She must have dropped it before she collapsed on the bed.
Something was wrong. She knew something was wrong. Haruko lifted her head and looked around the room. It must have been the wine. She didn't feel good. She let out a gasp as she noted someone standing next to the room service cart.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?" she asked. He was dressed in an unusual manner. Haruko wished she could see his face but it was covered by the straw hat he wore.
Shunsui looked over at her. Long dark black hair ran down her back. "I'm a shinigami. I'm here to…" There was a knock on the door.
"Excuse me, miss. You left your wallet downstairs and I'm here to return in to you."
Shunsui flash stepped to her and plucked her off the bed and into a corner. Haruko saw that as the shinigami pulled her away, her body stayed on the bed.
"What…?" she started to ask. The door opened and in walked two men. They high fived each other as they walked over to the bed.
"I told you it would work," one of them said. They rolled her body over and ran their hands over her. Haruko shuddered.
"Dude, I think something's wrong. She's not breathing."
"What?" They checked for a pulse. "Dude, she's dead." They scrambled off the bed and out the door.
"No. I just got here!" Haruko screamed. She looked at the shinigami. Her blue eyes were filled with anxiety. "What happened?"
"They gave you too much."
"Too much what?"
He shrugged. "Whatever they put in your wine." He reached for one of his katanas.
"What are you going to do with that?" Haruko asked, backing away from him.
"Your chain of fate has been severed. I'm here to send you to Soul Society." Haruko looked down and noticed the chain coming out of her chest. "Something is keeping you here. I need to help you move on."
"The boy from my dreams. We made a promise. I thought he might be in Japan. We made a promise to… to…" her voice trailed off. What had that promise been?
"To always be together, Haruko," he remembered. "And to always be friends."
"Who are you?" she asked.
He removed his hat and she saw the smile spread across his face. "Eighth division Captain of the Gotei 13, Shunsui Kyoraku." He saw her eyes widen.
"Shun-kun!!" She ran to him and hugged him. Shunsui put an arm around her. He pulled out one of his blades.
"Things will be different this time," he muttered. They weren't kids anymore and he could fell the reiatsu pulsating off her. She would be a shinigami. Maybe now he could keep his promise. He touched the hilt of Katen Kyoukotsu to Haruko's forehead and followed the Hell Butterfly back to Soul Society.
