Note: It has been so long from the last time I have written a story or an update. I truly, truly want to finish my existing stories but no matter how much I tried, I have made an update for one but decided not to post it since I'm not satisfied with how it ended up. I guess that's what happens when you come from a very long hiatus.

So, what to do? I've decided to just create another one.

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Standard Disclaimer applies.

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The place is quiet save for the tapping sounds from someone's finger and the music playing over the radio. As usual, there were barely customers for the day and she's willing to bet against Urahara that the man sitting at the far-end of the corner, reading today's newspaper would be the last customer. She supposed that given the shop's general weirdness, a few will be interested to enter, let alone hang out. It's a café shop located far from the more populated area of Karakura town but for reasons all his own, Urahara refused to put up a shop around the business areas.

She found this place two years ago when she was looking for one and found it suitable. She lived a few blocks from this shop, renting a room in an apartment owned by Urahara's friend, Tessai. According to the latter, no one has ever lived in that place ever since Jinta decided to explore the world.

She shook her head at the little recollection and sighed once more as another song started to play.

You've been hanging around

You've been with me from the start

Sail on, sail on silver girl,

You've been spinning too fast

I could tilt a world

She frowned a little at the lyrics and the melody. She's not really much of a music lover but there was something in that song and the voice and the melody that caught her interest.

I've done a lot of living in this town

I've done a lot of flying with my feet on the ground

You can't build your bridges after you've burnt them down

I've done a lot of living but I'm dying now

She straightened a little and glanced at Ururu who came from the back door. The girl waved quietly and proceeded towards the kitchen. Having been focused on the song, Rukia only nodded as she strained her ears even more.

How long, how long will it take

For you to learn your lessons

From all your mistakes

How long until the well runs dry?

You're buckets coming up empty

You're wondering why

There was something heartbreaking in the way the guy sang the lyrics.

Cause you've done a lot of living in this town

You've done a lot of flying with my feet on the ground

You can't build your bridges after you've burnt them down

I've done a lot of living but I'm dying now

Yep, definitely heartbreaking, she thought.

So long, everything must go

But I can't leave it behind

If I've never really known

And so long to nothing matters now

Who knows if I stand a chance

But I'm trying anyhow

Cause I've done a lot of living in this town

I've done a lot of flying with my feet on the ground

You can't build your bridges after you've burnt them donw

I've done a lot of living but I'm dying now

Just as the song finished, Ururu appeared again with two mugs of hot chocolate and coffee.

"I wonder," she started as the last melody faded away. Ururu set down the mug of coffee in front of her. "What prompted them to write the song?"

"Well, that's a six-year-old song from the famous band Arrancar. According to rumors, one of the members wrote that during his break-up with his childhood sweetheart."

Rukia leaned closer to Ururu. "How would you know that?"

Ururu only shrugged. "Jinta is an avid fan of the band. Anyway, Tessai-san said that you have a new neighbor. Rather, the two of you will be sharing the house, he'll be occupying the other vacant room."

Rukia could not help but frown. "I dearly hope whoever will live there will not be as troublesome as the last," she grumbled and sipped on her coffee. "Thanks for the coffee by the way."

Ururu giggled. "Who else will consume them if not us?"

At the comment, Rukia could not help but chuckle. "Sometimes I wonder why he even set up this shop if he's not so much interested in earning profits."

Ururu leaned closer. "I think he's waiting for someone."

"Huh?"

The teenager actually shrugged this time. "Well, from what I gleaned from their conversations before – Urahara-san was about to meet the woman he loves in a café shop somewhere but things happened and she never came. I think he's still waiting."

"Conspiring against me girls?"

Both females almost jumped in surprise when Urahara spoke. They forgot he was just in his office upstairs.

"Ah, not really, just gossiping about you," Rukia answered and watched him carefully. He always presented a carefree persona but working for him for two years now made her understand the man hidden behind. Although of course he still remained a mystery. She knew the earnings of this shop is not enough to pay for her and Ururu's services but he always managed to pay them both and sometimes give them a few bonuses here and then. She never questioned where he gets his money despite the want to do so. It's not her business and therefore not her concern. As long as he pays her good enough money to get by then she doesn't complain.

Urahara pouted in his practiced comical front. "So mean," he said, a little bit whiny.

"That's not a good impression to show to a customer, you know," she commented drily, jerking her thumb towards their only customer whose back was on them as he continued reading the newspaper without a care in the world.

Come to think of it, he had been there for almost three hours.

Urahara huffed. "What impression?" he asked then turned to Ururu. "Don't you have a final exam tomorrow? You should go ahead. Rukia will take care of everything."

"Hey I have a date – "

"Not a single guy ever managed to give you a lingering look ever since you worked here. They all thought you're weird as this place," Urahara commented offhandedly, earning a smack from Rukia who hit him in the head.

"Shaddap! But I really wanted to – "

"I have an important thing to do so bye, bye," Urahara cut her off again and dashed towards the door leaving the two females gaping. She sighed then turned to Ururu. "It's alright, I can manage here. It's not like we deal with a lot of customers."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Ururu stayed a while longer, finished her chocolate drink then later left, leaving Rukia on her own again. She decided to bring out her tablet and started typing, suddenly inspired to continue with her story which was half-way finished two years ago before she decided to stop writing and hide in a town not so well-known .

She was on her second paragraph when she happened to glance at her customer. He was like a robot just sitting there. She wondered why he would choose to stay long in this kind of place. Normally, one can stay as long as thirty minutes before they get bored and leave.

Her chair clattered when she stood up and went inside the kitchen. A while later, she emerged with a mug of brewed coffee and walked towards the lone man. He made no movement to acknowledge her presence.

"Your coffee must be cold," she only said before giving the table a look. "Or not," she muttered, placing the new cup of coffee and taking the empty one.

"I did not ask you to bring me one," he finally spoke in a low voice as he slowly turned to glance at her. but Rukia barely spared him a glance when she answered.

"I know but since it's just you and me here and I'm about to have another drink of coffee, I figured I should treat you on one. Who knows, it might get you to come back the following days and become a regular customer here. You've been here for hours and you realize we barely have customers. Enjoy the coffee."

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He did not tilt his head to watch her leave but simply stared at the steaming coffee in front of him.

"Weird girl," he muttered and decided to take advantage of her generosity and started to sip on it before he resumed reading. A while later, he glanced at his watch then sighed. It was stupid to come here and meet up with Orihime but given the tension between her and his friends, he decided to agree with her to meet at this place.

It did not take him long to find this place and he immediately opted for the farthest table and waited. They agreed to meet at two but she always, always, ends up arriving late. Sometimes, he wondered why he puts up with her. it was a tiring routine. Their relationship had not been going well the past few years and what was once a relationship filled with mutual respect and love turned into nothing but physical one.

They became each other's booty call.

He heard the chime ring but he did not look back to see if it was her. he felt no need for that. He heard the woman earlier speak in a louder voice.

"Welcome to Urahara's café," she greeted politely.

"Did a man with green eyes, black hair come here?" she asked frantically. "We were supposed to meet here at two p.m. but I got held up," she explained, looking around.

"Ah – I'm not really sure about how he looks but there was a guy here since the mentioned time," the woman answered. "He's over there."

"Thank you,"

"No problem."

He could her heels clicking against the floor. He did not need to look to know that she moved with the practiced grace of a model.

"You know when you said we can meet at two, I expected you to arrive earlier after you said that you have no commitments for the day. But it seems, it's always like the old game," he commented drily before she could even begin to speak his name.

She pulled a seat across him. He wasn't too gentlemanly to pull a seat for anyone after all. She sat down and gave him an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry it's just that there was really an emergency and that I had to be there."

He noticed how she clasped and unclasped her hand, a tell-tale sign that she is nervous. He merely raised his brow.

"You see…" she trailed off, unsure of what to really say.

Irritated, he spoke. "Out with it already," he said with a slight bite in his tone. He longed for a cigarette but since this shop has a bold sign plastered about "no smoking", he never opted for one, respecting the policy.

"I'm…he…proposed to me."

He wasn't sure what she expects from him. Did she expect him to react with envy? With anger? "Is that so?" he only intoned, reaching for the half-emptied cup of coffee. He had to admit, they know how to serve coffee. And it's exactly how he takes it.

Surprised at how well he handled the news, she blinked a couple of times. "T-That's it?" she asked.

He frowned at her. "What do you expect me to say?"

She looked flustered- whether from embarrassment or something else. "I – anything but that. I mean, you can't just say it like that!" her voice quivered in anger.

"So how should I say it?" he asked with no hint of emotion.

Again, she managed a blink before her shoulders sagged. She looked defeated. "No wonder…we did not work out," she muttered and forced a smile when she faced him. "I wanted you to at least feel something for me – happy that I am finally getting married, or angry or anything just not that kind of disconnect between us."

He was about to answer when the radio played another song.

It's too late…to go back…

Huh. What's with the radio these days? He shook his head to rid the song then turned to Orihime who looked pale all of a sudden, as if the words of the song cut through her. immediately, she stood up.

"I…I have to go," she said and hurriedly left him there again. He sat for a while and pondered on the irony of the situation. Once upon a time, she left him like this too. Sitting all alone. He stared outside and watched the few cars passing by. The store, being located at the outskirt of the town barely attracts any customers but if he is to hazard a guess, this shop wasn't actually meant for a business. Because if it had been so, the owner should have put more effort to attract customers.

His phone beeped and he checked to see the message. It was from Grimmjaw. Saah, he sighed and ignored the message while he continued sipping on the barely hot coffee. When it was already emptied, he stood up just as another message came from Grimmjaw again. When he walked towards the counter, he noticed the woman gone and only her tablet left open.

"Careless girl," he muttered, leaving a bill beneath the tablet and walked out.

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Tiredly, Rukia opened her door and stepped in, kicking it closed. She left for the comfort room earlier and came back with her customer gone. What annoyed her was the bill he left at the counter – a sign that he did not accept her generous offer.

She did not know what he was talking about with the beautiful woman, the model, but she thought it was something serious because the woman looked flustered, angry and hurt at the same time before she stormed off. She expected the guy to go after her but nope, he simply sat there and drank on his coffee – the coffee she offered generously.

When she spotted the bill he left behind, she decided that perhaps he's one of those types of people who doesn't take generosity graciously. She kicked her shoes off and sat on the sofa just as her phone beeped.

"Oi, midget! Are you still alive?"

The text message came from her best friend who went gallivanting around the world. Too tired to even give a decent reply, she decided to send him a message later as she dozed off. She did not know how long she slept but she knew that she woke up from something.

And that something was a loud noise from across her room. she groaned. Really? Can't Tessai ever find her a normal neighbor for once? The last time someone rented that place, he turned out to be someone selling drugs. They were just too glad that when he got busted, it wasn't in this place but somewhere else.

She walked towards her bed and reached for the pillow to cover her head. But nope, whoever was living across her decided that the noise wasn't just loud enough and he upped the volume even more making her grit her teeth in annoyance.

Annoyed, she decided to take some action and marched out. The noise seemed louder even more. Seriously, do people consider this noise music? she knocked loudly but whoever is inside must be in his own world now because there was no response. She tried again. And again until her patience ran out.

"You inconsiderate - !" just as she was about to shout at the top of her lungs, the door opened widely as a man with – was that blue? Blue hair appeared laughing manically over his shoulders. Rukia immediately took a quick look inside and groaned as she finally understood what type of person her neighbor is.

The blue-haired guy finally noticed her and blinked before he looked at her room then at her. "Ho? You must be the neighbor."

"I wonder if having a neighbor occurred to you when you started with the noise – "

"Oi! It's music," someone interrupted from inside .

"Whatever," she waved him off and glared at them. "Look, we both live in the same roof so can we at least learn to respect each other's need for quiet?" she asked politely. "If that's not too much to ask," she added with slight sarcasm.

A woman with green hair suddenly appeared beside Rukia. She was holding two paper bags. "Ah, are you Ulquiorra's neighbor?" she asked politely and unceremoniously dropped the paper bags into the hands of the man with blue hair. Said guy scowled in annoyance but the woman waved him off with her hands before she turned to her and held both hands. "I am Neliel and I'm sorry if the band disturbed you. I told them earlier to keep it low. Apparently, they did not listen."

Again, Rukia groaned. Of all the neighbors that landed next to her, she gets to be sidled up with a band - a rock band. She suddenly felt a growing headache just thinking of the days to follow. "Just – tone it down, please," she mumbled then turned on her heel.

"Why don't you join us, seeing as you are now his neighbor and all? Let's give Ulquiorra a welcoming party," another woman spoke and Rukia looked over her shoulder to find a black-haired bespectacled woman wearing a sailor moon outfit?

"No thanks. I'll give a proper welcome some other time when it's become quiet," she turned down the offer and sighed. "Really, it's nice of you to offer but I'd rather not."

She held the knob of her room when she heard Neliel speak. "Ah, Ulquiorra, you're finally here."

Curious as to who her neighbor is, she could not help but tilt her head a little only to fully turn around. He was frowning as he stared inside his room. "Really, I expected you to keep a tight leash around your boyfriend," he commented earning a slap to the chest.

"I told them to keep it quiet – now you did not make a good impression with your neighbor here," Neliel pointed at her who kept looking at him. This time, he finally spared her a glance. A frown, a twitch of the lips then nothing more.

"You're that guy from earlier," she could not help but comment as her hand fished something from her pocket. Good thing she did not yet change clothes. She took out the bill he left earlier then reached for his hand and placed it back there. "If someone shows you generosity, the least you can do is be thankful. A thank you would suffice, you know."

"Huh?" Neliel looked confused. Rukia groaned when music bleared again. Unconsciously, she rubbed her temple. Headache, she thought. Fucking headache.

"Are you alright?" Neliel asked, noticing how she started to pale. She merely raised her hand and turned on her heels, forgetting her manners as she entered her room and dashed towards her bag where she immediately sought her medicine.

She heaved a sigh after taking one and sat on the sofa. Can't her life get any kind of peace she wanted?

"Thank you."

Surprised, she immediately stood up, alerted, before she realized the one who spoke was her neighbor. He was leaning on her doorjamb with his arms crossed. He was looking straight at her.

Rukia gathered her wits before she decided to respond. "Uh, welcome?" she said uncertainly.

He shrugged then leaned away. "Well then, have a good night," he said and closed the door behind him , leaving Rukia wondering what just happened. not too much concerned about it, she decided to send her friend a message.

She glanced at her surrounding and was reminded of the life she had chosen. It's not like she regretted it. But sometimes, there are many what ifs running through her head. But if there is one thing she probably regretted, it's the fact that she barely talked to her siblings now. She wound send them messages every now and then and they would call but they never saw each other for two years.

She knew her brother could find her if he so wishes but it was only upon her request that he did not seek her out. Then as if fate decided to give her a break, her phone rang and she read her brother's name on it.

Grinning, she answered the call. "Brother."

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Ulquiorra was thankful when finally his friends decided to stop and they just started drinking while talking about their new album. He simply sat at on the single couch while Lisa checked on her pad. She always checked on a lot of things. But she's a very good manager. Of that, he was very sure.

"Alright, you have a lot of catching up to do after your five months break-away tour," she started and glanced at her personal calendar. "Starting next week, you will all be very busy. First will be the scheduled interview about your new album. The reporter agreed to meet you in any place you wanted."

"We can opt to send you to stand in for us," Nnoitra muttered.

"You can but after the scandal you have created yourself, Nnoitra, it's time for damage control," Lisa snorted. "You have to remember that for as long as you can sing and entertain the – "

"I think it's already quite a given that most rock bands carry scandals with them," Kensei commented drily. "Whether you do good or bad to protect it – there will always be scandals attached to you."

The bespectacled woman sighed. "I understand that but you have come this far protecting your image – why ruin it now?" she asked.

Neliel was about to speak when they heard a crash from the other room. A few moments later, there was a scream and then another thing broke from the sound of the second crash. Grimmjaw decided to comment.

"You think you found yourself a crazy neighbor?" he asked Ulquiorra who refused to comment.

"No! No! you're lying!"

"Well, why don't you check up on her?" Neliel suggested. "We can talk about the opening tour tomorrow when the rest arrive."

Lisa nodded her head then pointedly looked at Nnoitra. "You – better get your head up on the game or I will kick your fuckin' ass," she threatened. Her tone was flat but there was a threat behind that. Lisa had worked her ass off too just to get them to where they are now. And she wouldn't allow a screw-up to ruin everything. "Just be fucking glad the judge was lenient this time but next time you get busted with possession of those fucking drugs again, I'll personally see to it that you will regret ever making that mistake again." She gathered her things and straightened up. they could still hear the crash from the other room but no one bothered to stand up and check on their moody neighbor. Ulquiorra sighed then stood up to walk Lisa towards the door.

"It won't be easy but he's really trying," he muttered.

"Then he should try harder," she said as he opened the door for her. she studied him closely then sighed. "It goes the same for you too you know – it's time to get out of your funk." She adjusted her glasses. "Remember she caused your ruin."

He only managed a curt nod. "I appreciate the concern. I truly do," he said with as much sincerity he could muster. After all, humility wasn't one of his strong virtues. "But I run my life the way I want it to. Whatever fuck-ups arise, they are mine to deal with."

She sighed in resignation before she nodded and left. He watched her turn left before he eyed the room next door as another loud crashed followed. A while later, when he was about to return to his friends, he noticed her door open and a messy woman stepped out.

He might have just ignored it if not for the dead look on her face as she moved like a zombie. He remained on his spot, reminded of that kind of thing from Orihime many years ago. It was the start of his trouble actually. Half of him decided to ignore the woman and leave her alone – she's not his business after all. But another part of him decided "to hell with it" and without saying anything to his friend, he closed the door behind him and spoke to himself.

"Troublesome, woman."

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The song is not mine but by Noah Gundersen. Characters are OOC but it's always for the purpose of the story.