A/N: Dedicated to 7sodeno_shirayuki7. Happy birthday!

01172015: "Epilogue" uploaded as a separate chapter. Apart from that, no other changes have been made.

A Mysterious Encounter

It was already drizzling outside when Takeshi finished his tenth round at the batting machine. As usual, he was the last customer to leave the sports center that weekend - he was always staying behind and practising his swings alone, even when his teammates already called it quits for the day. The employees of the facility weren't really surprised - after all, he is the only freshman who made it to Namimori's baseball regulars, and is also one of the team's most dedicated players.

But then again, dedication was not really an excuse for getting himself drenched in rain. As soon as he left the sports center, Takeshi was surprised to see that what was just a little rain earlier suddenly became a downpour. Cursing himself for not bringing an umbrella, he ran down the street as fast as he could, trying to find something to hide under for the meantime, his home still far away from where he was. All the while, the rain was getting stronger by the minute, not showing any sign of letting up soon.

His vision being clouded by the rain, the middle-schooler made a mad dash to the left, hoping to find even so much as a waiting shed to stay under. He ran straight ahead, noticing the stairs to Namimori shrine at the end of the road. Relieved at finding shade at last, he climbed two steps at a time, and upon reaching the top of the stairs, he ducked under the nearest tree he saw. With a sigh of relief, the young lad sat on the grass, leaning his back on the trunk.

For a while, Takeshi wondered to himself why the rain suddenly poured as strong as it did as soon as he took a step outside, when said rain shower was just a drizzle while he was still in the sports center. He eventually dismissed the thought with his usual smile, thinking that the rain would let up soon anyway.

Rukia frowned as she donned her black uniform in front of the mirror. She could hear the rain falling on the roof above her for more than ten minutes already. She hated that sound, which she likened to an annoying percussion with no tempo, beat and rhythm, as if some beginner were just randomly hitting drums on the roof, and it seemed to get stronger and more persistent as moments passed.

After she finished closing the last button on her suit top, she sat down on the couch and tried to focus on her assignment. She was to patrol Namimori Town for that night and to check for any abnormalities in the said area. She was partly relieved that it was raining as hard as it did, since it would make her job easier, with no civilians roaming around the street at that time, their presence constantly confusing her senses each time she went out on a mission.

At this, Rukia started to wonder why they were even protecting the humans in the first place. Those weak creatures didn't even know about the entities that threatened them, or about the organization that prevented these entities from attacking human settlements. The group, after all, was regarded as but a figment of the human imagination, a part of their mythology. But then again, it is what their race does for human society that gave them a purpose in life, a sense of pride and identity to their otherwise nonexistence in the world. And being one of them, Rukia was proud of it.

A dance-hit tune began to play as the young lady felt her cell phone vibrate in her suit pocket, snapping her out of her reverie. She glanced up the wall clock hanging above her door frame. It was two minutes to six o'clock in the evening - almost time for her to head out for work. She stood up and made final adjustments to her attire, then stopped as she remembered the phone ringing in her pocket. Rukia heard a panicky male voice on the other end of the line as she answered the call.

"R-R-Rukia-s-sama, p-p-please hurry up! I-It's already six, you know!"

Said girl sighed weakly. "I know, I know. Tell him I'll be there, okay?"

"B-but Abarai-sama is- AAAAAAAUUUUGH!"

Rukia winced at the ear-piercing scream, after which the phone conversation was cut off. Shaking her head, she threaded a white silk band across the belt holes on her skirt and tied it securely, after which she hung a katana on her left waist. After running her brush through her hair several times, she got her keys on the table and left the room.

"Damn that Renji," she muttered as she made her way to the elevator. "I DID tell him not to scare the life out of Hanataro-kun when the poor lad first came into the Kuchiki estate..."

Having said that, she let out a small smile after a while as she waited for the elevator to take her to the ground floor. After all, her life became more colorful as more members joined their organization. How ironic, indeed, that it is as a Shinigami that she has a more... well, "life-filled" life.

After what seemed to be a long time, Takeshi strained his neck to look at the digital clock attached to the lamp post located at the bottom end of the staircase he ascended earlier. He squinted his eyes to read the time, and could only make out what looked like a "10" on the minute side. Considering that he left the sports center around ten minutes before six, then spent around three minutes running around to look for shade, he deduced that he must have been under the tree for fifteen minutes or so already. The rain didn't really evolve into some storm, but it sure didn't look like it would let up, either.

"I'm SO in trouble with Dad," Takeshi sighed to himself as he leaned back on the tree trunk, seemingly resigned to his fate of being stuck in Namimori shrine. "Maa, he'd probably scold me for not always bringing an umbrella with me when I go out."

"Then why don't you get something to cover your head and go home?" a deep female voice resonated throughout the shrine's premises. Takeshi's eyes widened in surprise as he shot up and scanned the area for any suspicious people. He mostly focused on the area near the staircase, wondering who would come to visit the shrine during a downpour.

"Who's there?" he shouted, his eyes directed to the bottom of the stairs. Unlike what he expected, no one was there. The young boy then began looking among the plants on the other side of the shrine entrance, but was stopped when the same female voice called out to him again.

"I'm here, you fool," it said, this time with a hint of annoyance.

Takeshi jerked his head the other way to the direction of the voice, which came from behind the main shrine building. Before he had a chance to approach the source of the voice, he saw a petite figure holding an umbrella make her way from behind the bushes there, gingerly pushing aside any greenery that got caught on her attire. The girl had short, black hair, a big section of it hanging over her face and some of its pointed sections resting on her shoulders. Upon closer inspection, Takeshi noticed her unusual attire: she had on a double-breasted black suit, wearing a white blouse and a just as black necktie underneath. Her matching black skirt was half an inch above her knee, and a white silk cord was threaded along the skirt's belt holes. At first, he thought that the young girl was just a mourner who visited a funeral or a wake in the area, the place being a shrine and all. However, the katana hanging on her left waist, as well as the young girl's expressionless countenance, convinced him otherwise. He chose not to make a fuss over it, though, subtly remaining cautious of her.

"Hello," Takeshi greeted her brightly. "I guess you're also stuck in this rain, huh? It's already been pouring for this long." Putting his arms behind his head, the young teenager looked up at the dark, cloudy sky, as if to check for any signs of the rain stopping, before facing the girl again. "Did you come to pray first before going home?"

The girl raised an eyebrow at this question. "Do I look like a religious person to come visit the shrine daily?" she frowned, folding her left arm across her chest while adjusting her hold on her umbrella with the other arm. "I'm not here to play around."

"What is it you are here for, then?" Takeshi asked, a smile still on his face despite the slight confusion over what she just said. "You couldn't be taking shelter here, as well, since you have an umbrella with you."

"That is none of your business. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some urgent business to attend to." As she said this, the girl turned away from him and started to walk away. She stopped for a while and looked back at the young lad with a serious expression. "You should be getting home, as well. It's dangerous around here."

Takeshi blinked twice in confusion. "Dangerous? How so?"

Questions started to fill his mind regarding the enigmatic girl before him - exactly who she was, what she was doing there alone in the rain, why she had a sword with her. Moreover, he didn't understand why the shrine vicinity became a dangerous place. From the way she said it, something bad was about to happen - that much he could foretell, but it was so vague that he couldn't put a finger in it.

Rukia couldn't help but get annoyed at the young boy before her. She was no mind-reader, but judging from his confused expression, she could tell that he wanted to ask her more questions regarding her identity, though he didn't say them out loud - yet. She tried to convince herself that he just meant well, but she could sense a hint of caution in him - probably because of what she just said earlier.

Now she regretted ever conversing with the boy. She wasn't even supposed to approach him, she being of a different race from his, and thus was supposed to keep her being different from him a secret. Actually, this was fairly easy for them Shinigami, since they could just pass as normal people in physical appearance and manners, but this time, her weapon just gave her away. And because he had already seen it, she knew he wouldn't just turn around and walk away without a word - no one would. Humans in this era don't carry swords around in public anymore, after all. But it's too late to avoid the subject, now that she's inevitably on the verge of being found out.

This was why she hated humans, especially clueless, inquisitive fools like him. Couldn't they just mind their own business as told?

Rukia stared at the young lad for a while, as if studying his features. He looked like a fourteen to fifteen-year-old middle-schooler, albeit a little bit tall for his age. He was wearing a dark blue shirt underneath a light blue checkered polo shirt, which he kept unbuttoned His dirty-white pants complemented his dark shirt, and his gray sneakers completed the look. He had short black hair and golden eyes, and a smile always graced his lips. However, none of these really meant much to her, to whom the young boy's appearance simply screamed "Plain, Mundane, Boring Human" - nothing worth wasting time over, really.

After a while, she spoke again. "It doesn't concern you. Just do as I say and go home. You're wasting my time." She headed for the shrine exit again, not heeding his calls for her to wait - the usual scenario with humans that learn the "truth" about her. But unlike expected, he was calling her to... get out of the way.

Everything happened really fast afterward. The next thing Rukia knew, the boy came running towards her and pushed her away, sending them both rolling on the grass. Her umbrella was knocked off her hand, one of its sharp ends slightly grazing her right hand. She was now as wet as he was, some of her hair now already sticking to her face. She couldn't move as well because the human boy was holding her tight, sparing her the shock of the impact of being knocked to the ground so suddenly. Regaining her senses, she narrowed her eyes in anger and pushed him away.

"What on earth are you doing, you human?" she shouted, annoyed and violated at what he just did. She was about to say more when a gigantic shadow emerged from the shrine building and whizzed through the premises in random direction at a high speed. Its form was not that of a human, but of a modified arachnid's. It emanated a dark aura, which grew stronger as it approached the pair.

Rukia's eyes widened in shock. "This unmistakable aura... An Entity!"

The Entity sped along, eventually heading towards them. On instinct, Rukia pulled out her sword and prepared to cut it down, but it moved too fast for her to react. The monster went past them, but it seemed to realize its mistake and charged towards them again from the back. Before the Shinigami had a chance to move her sword, the teenager had already grabbed what looked like a metal baseball bat from the ground and ran towards the Entity to strike.

"Don't do it! It's far too strong for you!" she shouted, but was not heard in spite of her repeating what she said. Fearing for his safety, she began to run towards him to help fight the monster. However, she suddenly halted in shock when the baseball bat he was holding suddenly changed its form as it was swung down in high speed. And before she realized it, the human boy already cut the Entity in half, causing it to disintegrate. What's more, he was now holding a katana in place of the bat.

"What on earth..." Rukia managed to say, still trying to process what just happened before her. The whole incident was just hard to comprehend. Humans should not be able to see Entities, much less defeat them, yet this phenomenon happened. She bit her lip as she tried to sort out her thoughts, unable to comprehend the reality of the matter that was before her.

She had to admit, the boy was not a normal human being, though outwardly he looked like an ordinary, plain-as-day teenager. When she first appeared before him, he was not taken aback by her attire and weapon - either he was not scared of her at all, or he was so naive that he didn't think it strange that someone in this time would wield a sword, most especially because she was a girl. He had a keen sense of detecting impending danger, seeing as he was able to warn her even before the Entity emerged - something she did not even sense. He also had great combat ability for an ordinary middle-schooler, for he was able to keep up with the monster's speed and defeat it, not to mention he had a strange contraption of a weapon.

Rukia stiffened, unable to take her eyes off him. This never happened before. 'Exactly who is this person?...'

Tightening his grip on the katana, Takeshi felt himself tense up. He, too, was utterly confused at what had just happened. As if meeting a strange girl in the shrine weren't enough, he just had to get in trouble with her shadow-like enemies. Facing the girl again to ask about the whole thing, he instead found the girl's bewildered cerulean eyes staring back at him. Suddenly remembering to act like a gentleman, he snapped himself back into reality and helped her up.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern, dropping his sword on the grass and offering his hand to the young lady. The usual smile on his face was gone.

The girl surprisedly blinked twice. "Ah.. Thanks..." Taking his hand, she stood up and sheathed her sword, after which began a barrage of angry words from the petite woman.

"What do you think you were doing?" she scolded him. "What you just did was very dangerous! A human like you must not interfere in these kinds of matters! You could have gotten yourself killed!" Seemingly going out of control, the girl was about to hit him. Luckily, he was able to dodge just in time.

"At that time, I only thought of saving you," he explained himself in a serious tone. "I may just be an ordinary teenager, but I can't just let someone get hurt in front of me like that. I had to do something..." As he said this, the young lady's expression softened as she put down her arm. "At least it turned out well!" he added, grinning again. This elicited no reply from the woman, however.

They stared at each other in silence for a while before the female asked him another question. "What is your name?"

"Yamamoto Takeshi." He offered his right hand for a handshake, which she accepted. "You are a pretty good swordsman for a middle-schooler, Yamamoto-san... Thank you."

Takeshi laughed. "No, I'm not. I just got this amusing toy from a kid staying with my classmate. And you are?..."

At this, she simply smiled knowingly and gave him a cryptic message: "Go home."

He was taken aback, but a look from the girl prevented him from saying more. "Farewell, Yamamoto Takeshi." She then turned around and started to go through the forest from which she came. As he looked at the direction she took, he saw an open black umbrella lying on the floor. Recognizing it as hers, he ran after her to return it while trying to close it, but stopped when a note attached to the umbrella came into view.

"That umbrella is yours now - use it to get yourself home." it said. As he reached the last word, the rain suddenly stopped, as if the note he just read possessed some magical power and acted like a spell to end the downpour. Puzzled, Takeshi lightly shook the umbrella to remove the excess dripping water and detached the note.

"Thanks," he whispered silently as he clutched the note in his hand.

It then occured to him that he was not able to find out who she was in the end. It couldn't be helped, considering the mess they had been in just a while ago, but for some reason, he didn't feel like knowing it anymore. There are some things in the world that must remain unknown, after all.