This is a continuation of the oneshot Without Complication. It is not entirely necessary for you to read the previous story to understand this, but know that I will reference back to it from time to time.

Just as before...this story's continuation is decided solely by my reviewers. If I don't get any reviews, there won't be a next chapter. It's as simple as that.

This has officially been edited since its 5am release. If you find any errors, PM me and I will fix them...

Disclamer: This should go without saying, but I do not own bleach. I wish I did...until I do, I will settle for writing fanfiction.

It was an average spring day in the town of Karakura. The weather was fine, and all was quiet but for the occasional car or passerby. The working class was nowhere to be seen; for it had been that special time of day between shifts. Few were getting off, and even fewer were going to work. Somewhere, a school bell was going off and students were filing out of their classrooms. It was during these precious moments that everything but the wind stood still. It was a time that those who wished for peace often cherished. However, there was one individual who prayed for a distraction.

He appeared to be a young male…that is, if you could see him. Normally, he would venture out like any other; but there were days when he just wished to be left alone. How could one tell? Well…you wouldn't see him, that's how. Invisible to the human eye, unless one had been gifted with a special sight, you would never find the shihakushō garbed character.

Despite his original intentions, the poor soul had been left with his mind for far too long.

"Rukia," he stated in a hushed whisper, voice masked by the wind.

He looked to the sky, as if seeking an answer to his unspoken question. "Why not me?" his strained voice asked while he turned his gaze to the ground. He said nothing more after that, but one could tell by the look in his eyes that the words hadn't truly stopped, but instead continued in his mind.

'Despite your words, I see how you look at him.' He sighed, 'You have never looked at me that way before.'

He paused for but a moment. Internally warring with himself with whether or not he really wanted to continue with his current thought processes. He knew what he was thinking was true, and that only made it hurt all the more. That being the case, should he continue to venture down such a path…musing about things that would only push the knife deeper into his heart, twisting the blade with every painful thought that came to mind?

He probably shouldn't have, but it was too late to go back. Too late to turn around and act as if he hadn't been thinking about her in the first place. Instead, he blindly trudged forward. Thinking about what he shouldn't and twisting the knife himself.

'You care for him…I can tell.' The proverbial blade dug further into his heart, 'I know you care for me too…' There was a slight release in pressure, the blade being removed a bit.

'But it is not the same,' the knife plunged deeper than before. 'Our bond will never go beyond our friendship.' A second blade joined the first, 'I can never hope to be your lover…like that boy will some day be.' And then it happened. His thoughts had pushed the knives so far in that were buried to the hilt, ripping all the way through the back. His heart had been severed. A healer would be useless here; kido could not mend so grave a wound. Only love could heal a broken heart, and the one woman he had eyes for would never return his affections.

Slowly, his mind was pulling him into a depression. With no distractions, there would be nothing to stop the oncoming emotions. Though it would seem that luck was on his side that day for his cell phone rang before he could truly begin to sulk.

With the flick of his wrist, the black phone was open and at his ear. "Renji-san," the voice called out in a sing-song manner. The high pitch easily distinguished the other person to be female. Recognition bloomed in the back of his mind; somewhere just beyond his reach. Something told him that he knew that voice; that he had heard it somewhere before…but he still could not put a face to it. It was an unsettling thought. She knew him, but he didn't know her. The circumstances of such a situation could be as innocent as someone approaching you with familiarity but you not having a clue as to who they were. In turn, you nod and smile; all the while trying to remember their name before you can make a fool out of yourself. Or, it could have been as dangerous as a stalker…someone's shit-list that he just so happened to be on. Either way, it wasn't something he wanted to think about. Instead, he opted for a more direct approach.

"Who--" The red head began before being cut off by the stranger on the phone. When he had been about to try and speak again, the person cooed, "You are wanted at Urahara Shoten," before promptly hanging up.

It had all happened so suddenly; and before he could get a grasp of the situation, it was already over. Confusion littered his expressions, 'Just what was all that about?' Renji did not know what was going on at the moment, or what Urahara supposedly wanted him for; but he was grateful for the distraction.

--

Renji hadn't been the only person to receive the strange phone call, for far across town, a friend of his had as well, "Ichigo-chan!" The temperamental male took none too kindly to being called chan, but surprisingly, the only evidence of this was the ever cliché twitching of his eyebrow. "Who is this?" Kurosaki questioned in a surprisingly calm voice. "Just a friend," she answered as if she had known him for years. "Now," she paused to clear her throat before continuing in her best announcer's voice, "You presence has been requested by 'The Great Urahara Kisuke!'" Ichigo had moved to question her further, but never had the chance to do so. "Bring your friends…" her ever cheerful voice rang out before the line went dead.

--

"What's this about old man," Ichigo questioned as he arrived at Urahara Shoten, his friends in tow.

Recognizing the familiar voice, a seated Renji turned at the waist to exchange annoyed glances with the orange haired boy. Whether it was from jealousy or even simple rivalry, the sound of the college student's voice was enough to infuriate him at that moment. It wasn't uncommon for the two to act as such, but all knew that their attitude towards one another was just their strange way of displaying their friendship. It was because of this that Renji's attitude was ignored by the others. Little did anyone know, his irritated expression was genuine. As of late, Renji had been known to become irritable when in the presence of both Ichigo and Rukia. When in their company, he would always be painfully reminded of the blind love triangle that they all seemed to be in. Renji obviously had eyes for his childhood friend Rukia, though she never noticed…and Rukia seemingly had her heart set on Ichigo, who also seemed to be in the dark about his admirer's affections.

He however, never told anyone this, save for one person. Orihime Inoue. She was a friend of sorts…but oddly, not someone that he would normally confide in. The reason for him opening up and baring all to her was very simple. He had noticed that she too was in pain. Ichigo, her beloved, was a taken man whether he knew it or not…whether he wanted to be or not. Orihime shared the same opinions as Renji on the matter.

'Rukia was in love with Ichigo.'

Playing her part as the dedicated friend, Inoue had put her own feelings aside for the sake of another; stepping down so that someone else might find happiness. It pained her so…and the tortured expression that would fall upon her features whenever the two in question were together was one Renji identified with. He spilled to her one night; telling her all that ailed him. In turn, she closed up and revealed nothing. With gentle prodding and knowing looks; she caved in a flurry of pained wails and tears. He was the second person that she had opened up to, and it hurt even more when talking about it a second time.

Despite the initial pain that came with their confessions, a slight weight had been lifted…if not only for the night. For the remainder of the night, the two sat on her couch in better spirits knowing that they weren't alone. Ever again, if things became too much for her to handle, Orihime had a shoulder to cry on. He'd be there for her to pat her on the back and tell her everything was alright, and she would provide an ear for when he just needed to talk.

Each person, not wanting to burden the other, would never actually resort to such actions a second time; but it was still nice to know that the offer was there should they ever actually need it.

--

A small hand landed on Renji's shoulder and he visibly calmed. Like Chad, Inoue had developed the unique ability of calming the aggravated red-head without words. Ever grateful, he turned to her and offered a discreet nod and small appreciative smile.

The small interaction went unnoticed by nearly all in the room. Urahara had been the only one to catch what had happened and he wisely said nothing about it. Instead, he continued on as if nothing had happened.

"Well now, sit," the shopkeeper ordered from behind his fan. "There is someone I would like you all to meet," he said before promptly snapping his fan shut to reveal his trademark grin.

"Akina-chan!"

--

All heads snapped to the door as it smoothly slid open. Surprisingly, it hadn't been Kisuke's Akina-chan that stepped through the doorway. In her place stood a rather confused Tessai. Quickly and quietly, he set the tray he had been carrying down and left the room. While the entire room busied themselves with recovering from face vaults and slack jaws, Urahara hummed quietly to himself while pouring a cup of tea. He didn't see the reason to act so surprised. After all, Tessai did live with him, so his sudden appearance was by no means as shocking as everyone was making it out to be. Akina was on her way…he could feel her…or so he thought.

When a slender pair of arms snaked around his neck, traveled down his chest and stopped at the crook of his thigh, Urahara nearly dropped his tea. Thankfully, after years of dealing with the troublesome woman, his only outward response was a short gasp. Damn her and her reiatsu masking abilities.

"Akina-chan," he said, voice slightly husky from the intimate touch.

"Urahara-san," she replied impishly, innocent grin in place. Once again, she baited the poor shopkeeper and pulled away like she wasn't just doing something very private in a very public place. In fact, it seemed more like she hadn't even noticed the extra company until a very uncomfortable Ichigo coughed.

Akina didn't even spare him a glance. Instead, she snatched the hat off of Urahara's head and took a seat beside him. She had mumbled something about forgetting her own at home and he didn't question it. A few shocked glances where sent in the direction of the two—after all, Urahara was known to be very protective over his hat—but just like the shopkeeper, nobody said anything.

--

Grey-blue eyes scanned all who sat at the table before him, deciding the best way to approach the subject. He wanted Akina to work with the team of Karakura's "defenders". Bringing such a thing up alone would not be a problem; it was his reason for doing so that might cause a bit of trouble. Emotional trouble that is. He knew everyone's feelings on the subject. Despite how much time had passed since the initial incidents…despite how many years that had passed by without anything else happening, everyone's wounds were as fresh as they were all those years ago.

All eyes were on Urahara as he took a sip of his tea. When he set the empty cup down, he spoke in tone that had the whole room on edge. "I want add Akina to your ranks."

Things had been relatively dull in Karakura town as of late. There was still the occasional hollow sighting, but they were weaker and appeared far less frequently than usual. The fact that he was implying that they needed help was an unsettling thought. Urahara was a very wise man. When he said something was going to happen, you better grab your zanpakutō and get ready for a fight because something that you possibly never even faced before was coming your way. The only question was…what?

"Why," Ichigo dared ask what everyone else was thinking.

Kisuke moved to answer but Akina spoke before he could even open his mouth. "Because of Aizen," came her straightforward answer. A sickening feel settled into every stomach in the room. "He hasn't made a move in years…what makes you think—"

Akina cut him off with a raised hand, "The only reason I haven't been around to help your 'little team'," she did a sweeping motion with her hand, making it ever so obvious as to who she was talking about, "was because I was doing investigative work. I've only just recently finished. Have you noticed the hollows decrease in activity?" When no one said anything, she continued, "It's because he his gathering them all…and not just from your little town, but all over the place."

The petite red-head then leaned forward onto the table, a heavy sigh falling from her cherry painted lips. After tilting her borrowed hat up and out of her eyes, she picked up where she left off, "Ever arrive at a reported sighting only to have the damn hollow disappear before your eyes?" She paused, "No…well I have. In countless towns all over the place, hollows are appearing only to be snatched up and carted off to Hueco Mundo before anything can be done about it. Let's not think about all the souls that have yet to receive konsō because of this, but instead, think of all of the hollows that are being recruited to join an unstoppable force of an army. Sure, they may be weak, but they have strength in numbers. Tell me," she paused again, "What's one shinigami against a hundred or so hollows?"

That sick feeling had nearly doubled in force. She was right and they knew it; though who would want to believe such a thing to be true. The brains of the group, a dark haired Quincy cut in, his usually confident voice filled with uncharacteristic uncertainty, "If what you say is true Miss, then what difference will one additional person make?"

Akina fell back into a more comfortable position and chuckled to herself, "None."

The sickening feeling tripled.

"But," she supplied, her voice cutting through the thick cloud of dread like a hot knife through butter. They waited with bated breath; like whatever she was going to say next decided their fate. "You're not alone. It should go without saying that Seireitei will come to the aid of the human world. But, they aren't your only ally." There was a rush of "who?" and "what are you talking about?" type questions thrown at the woman but she appeared as if their questioning didn't phase her.

"If you haven't noticed, Seireitei is strictly Japanese. Do not tell me Japan is the only nation on this entire planet of ours that has a shinigami army of its own? They might go by different names, and their powers may be completely different than what you are used to; but Seireitei is NOT this dimension's only defense. It's a big world out there people…" With that, Akina had said her piece. She leaned back against the wall behind her and pulled the bucket hat back down over her eyes.

"Oh," she quickly added as she comfortably crossed her arms over her chest, "Don't even think about bombarding me with a bunch of questions again because I'm not going to answer."

Urahara simply shook his head at her display, a fond smile playing at his lips. "She knows how to make an impression doesn't she…"

Sorry for a lack of lovin' between Renji and Akina. This chapter's sole purpose was made to reveal why Renji was so upset in the oneshot, and to introduce the group to Akina. In fact, it might be a while before you see any "lovin'" between the two. As to why...you'll just have to read the next chapter to find out. And guess what!? I'm not going to post it unless I get some reviews! Muhahaha

As always...I'll write you review.