Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Tito Kubo has all copyrights over this anime/manga.
A/N: I'm back...as hard as it is too believe. It's all thanks to my co-author AnimeHero.
Tangled Heartstrings
Chapter 1: Fateful Reunion
Shinigami were not allowed to show any emotion for if they ever did, temptation would rise within them and make them seem weak to the enemy. For Rukia, she never had a choice. She feared that if she were to slip, she would give into her desires. It was far too late for her and she couldn't go back even if she wanted to. Time had passed and the scars on her heart had never healed. Lies. Whoever had made that proverb up was screwed up in the head.
Sometimes she wondered how things would've ended up if she had decided to stay that fateful day... and the pain starts swell up again...as if a cold fist was trying to crush it with all it's might. It hurt to think of him...the man she could've spent the rest of her life with. If you ask why she had even left him in the first place if she thought he was so perfect for her, then let Rukia tell you exactly what happened. Of what had resulted in her renouncing her powers as a shinigami...
Rukia watched her little girl race up ahead of the beach. A minute later she came running back to her mother holding up a sea shell in one hand and a seashell in the other.
"Mommy!" she cried. Rukia smiled at Sachiko and scooped the girl up in her arms. "You're so adorable," she whispered lovingly.
Sachiko squirmed in her mother's hold but Rukia only held her tighter to her heart. Rukia smirked. Her little girl couldn't keep still for too long before running off and getting herself into trouble. She put her down and held her pinkie out to her. Sachiko grasped hold of it as they began walking down the beach.
"Mom?"
"Yes?"
"When can I go to school?"
"Soon. Very soon. I want you to grow up and have a good education. I want"
"Did Sachiko tell you what she wants to be?"
Rukia indulged her with a bright smile. "No, what?"
Sachiko broke free from her and climbed on top of a large boulder with her arms spread wide as if to fly.
"I wanna be a ballerina!"
Rukia chuckled. "You can be anything you want to be."
"Okaa-san, what did you want to be?"
"...A bride."
"Okaa-san was married once?"
"Not quite but it was a dream of mine when I was a little girl. Still only a dream," Rukia sighed as she looked into the distance. The sun was setting and glorious oranges, purples, golds and pinks exploded into a crescendo of living art.
Sachiko jumped down from the boulder and landed in a squat. Rukia raced to her and wiped the dust off her dress.
"I just bought you this dress last week. Try to be a little lady-like. What if a boy saw your underwear?" she teased.
Sachiko turned red and jutted her chin out stubbornly. "Mom!"
Rukia pressed the back of her hand to her mouth to suppress her fits of giggles. Sachiko tugged on the hem of her dress to get her to stop.
"Aha ha...Come on, Suchiko. Let's go pick your brother up from Minoru's house so we can go eat some icecream. I'll buy you your favorite flavor."
"Sachiko, Ichi. What do you say to...triple scoops?" Rukia grinned maliciously.
Sachiko pumped her fists in the air at this and exclaimed, "Yeah! Let's go, mommy!" Her eyes strayed to the large bucket of icecream her mother had bought directly from the icecream shop.
"Okay, you too. Let's hurry before it starts to melt. It's getting late too."
"Okaa-san? Why can't we ever stay past dark? There's supposed to be a fair tonight. I want to go," Sachiko insisted.
Rukia waved her hand in dismissal. "We'll have to go another time. Besides, we can rent your favorite movies and prank call Uncle Renji!"
"Awesome! Uncle Renji!" Sachiko cheered.
Rukia turned to look over her shoulder to see that her son had stopped far behind them and was glancing around slowly.
"Hey, orange sherbert! You're gonna get left behind!"
Ichi stared past his mother with narrowing eyes. Rukia held Sachiko's hand in a firm grip as she walked toward her son. She got down on her knees and placed her gentle hands on his shoulders.
"Honey, is there something wrong? Are you...seeing things again?"
Ichi nodded his head after a moment. "...Yeah."
"Well, you know nothing can hurt you while I'm here."
"That's not what I'm worried about." His gaze was so penetrating that even Rukia was beginning to feel a knot of uneasiness get tangled up inside her belly.
"Ichi, let's go home. Please. I'm making your favorite dinner. Ramen!"
He smiled after a moment and grasped his mother's hand in his in a tight grip. He led their way to their apartment.
Rukia chuckled. 'Little boys are so easy to please. Especially mine.'
Once they entered the apartment, Rukia motioned for Sachiko to come into the kitchen with her.
"Sweetie, can you help Okaa-san out and set the table?"
"Yes, mom."
Rukia caressed her hair lovingly and smiled down at her most precious treasure. "That's my girl." She began getting food out from the fridge and set them down on the counter. She mentally smacked herself at seeing the small portions of food she had gotten out
"Shit." Rukia quickly covered her mouth when she saw Sachiko staring at her with wide eyes. "Sorry, honey. Forget you heard that. My tongue slipped. Don't repeat anything I accidentally say or anything someone else says. Alright?"
Ichi walked lazily into the kitchen and climbed up onto the wood-adorned chair, one leg hanging off it as he read through manga.
"Hey, Rukia?"
Rukia practically hissed at him as she whirled around to face him, scaring him to the point that he had nearly dropped his manga.
Rukia pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Ichi...how many time do I have to tell you to call me Mom? You're only six so don't act older than you are."
"I read somewhere that a relationship between a parent and their kid are strengthened if the kid calls their parent by their given name," Ichi said matter-of-factly.
Sachiko gave Ichi a weird look as she sat across from her, her doll in her lap and a brush in one hand.
"Where do you get this stuff from??"
"Not important. Well, Rukia, if you insist I call you 'Mom' then I respect that."
"Thank you."
"By the way, I wanted to know what this one word meant. I just found out about it today."
"What word?"
"Faggot."
Rukia and Sachiko stared at him with wide eyes as Ichi regarded them calmly, his manga long forgotten on the table. Rukia could feel herself switching to strict parent-mode. It wasn't a job she particularly liked but she wasn't about to let Ichi get away like that without getting a lecture so boring, he wouldn't dare repeat it again.
"Excuse me? Where did you hear that from?"
Ichi looked down at the tiled linoleum floor and shrugged as innocently as he could. His eyes avoided her purposely, afraid that if he looked into 'Medusa's' eyes, he would be turned to stone with one glare.
"I was while I was at Minoru's house. He was showing me one of his older brother's CD's with a song named...that and after that we kinda liked the sound of it and started saying it more. His brother tried to beat us up when he found out that we had scratched it."
"You didn't use the word on anyone did you?" Rukia asked, suspicion and worry coating her voice.
"...A few times...on some girls." Ichi looked down sheepishly as being caught in the act.
Rukia cocked an eyebrow at this. "Go on."
"...The icream man."
"And?"
"...A cop."
"You what?!"
Sachiko rolled her eyes. "And even then, you still have to go picking fights like that, don't you?"
"Actually, it was a whole squad of them but yeah." Ichi shrugged.
"Who else?" Rukia demanded.
"Erm- Renji."
Rukia's face began to swell up in anger at Ichi's antics. She tried to take slow, cleansing breaths to keep from ripping her hair out. Though, she admitted that she had suspected the last person's abuse before Ichi had even said it.
"Listen, Ichi. You can't just go around blurting words out like that. It could hurt someone's feelings."
"But it's not good to bottle everything up," Ichi pointed out.
Sachiko scrunched her face up at him. "I hate it when you get all smart around me. I'm gonna go watch some t.v. where things make sense to me."
Ichi smirked at her. "You do that, baby girl."
Sachiko swung at him with her raggedy Anne doll, but missed as Ichi used his quick reflexes so that he was now laying sideways on the chair. She pouted as she continued missing every him she threw at him. Rukia quickly ran over to her and lowered her fists.
"You're the one who said that people shouldn't go out picking fights. Ignore your brother."
Sachiko stuck her tongue out at Ichi and made faces at him.
"You'll end up in jail someday and I'm not bailing you out."
"Who says I need you when I can just bust out on my own?" Ichi scoffed.
Rukia smacked him upside the head. "You make it sound as if you're proud of this." She leaned back against the bunny wallpaper, rubbing her temples. "Oh my god...what am I going to do with you two?"
Sachiko opened her mouth to answer but Ichi covered her mouth with his hand.
"It's a retorical question, stupid."
Sachiko licked his hand in order for him to let her go. Ichi who was beyond grossed out, pulled away from her and began rubbing his palm against his pants.
"Be quiet, Ichi." She turned to her mother who was busy writing on a notepad. "Okaa-san? I'm hungry."
"I know, I know. Listen, guys. I hadn't realized we were this low on food supplies. We're gonna have to order out tonight." She got her cellphone out and dialed Renji's number with nimble fingers.
"Renji? Hey, what's going on? Me? Nothing much. I was just wondering if you could do me a favor and take care of the brat- I mean precious gifts from above," Rukia joked, winking at Suchiko's pout while Ichi simply rolled his eyes.
She could hear laughing from his end of the phone and smiled to herself.
"Sure, I'll be right over."
No sooner had Rukia had shut her phone than her door bell rang. She sweatdropped.
"Oh, come on. He lives three floors above me."
Ichi ran up to open the door and stared up at his Uncle Renji with blinking eyes. Renji smiled down at him and waved a little.
"Sorry, I took so long. I had to stop for donuts."
Rukia sweatdropped at this as she walked toward him, her purse swung over her shoulder. Renji smiled her way, as always some deeper emotion hidden in his depths...which Rukia kept failing to notice.
She handed him money for take-out and a long list of emergency numbers that trailed down to the floor. Renji gave her a weird expression as he read down the list.
"The fire department? What exactly do you think is going to happen here anyway?"
"With the terrible two here. Anything. Keep an eye on them. Suchiko has a habit of following ghosts she meets for the first time."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Just go already. What's the worst that can happen while I'm around?"
Rukia smiled at him and got on her tip-toes to kiss Renji on the cheek. He turned several shades of red as she moved away from him. His face twisted in pain as Ichi dove head-first into his abdomen.
"Gaaaghhh! What the- Ichi what was that for?! Are you insane?!" he asked through gritted teeth and gave Rukia a narrowed look when she saw that she was trying to smother her laughs.
"Quit hitting on my mom!"
Ichi made another dive but Renji caught him by the scruff of his collar just in time. He rose him up to eye-level and Ichi tried to squirm out of his arms to kick him. Renji chortled as he grabbed the kid under his arm and gave him a rough noogie.
"Easy, kid."
Rukia chuckled. "Ichi, are you jealous of Uncle Renji?"
Ichi turned red and looked away. Sachiko was now beside Renji and was poking Ichi with a large grin on her face.
"Just admit it! You are!" Sachiko taunted.
"Shut up! All of you!"
Rukia pulled him out of Renji's grasp and hugged him tightly to her small frame. She kissed him all over his face until he was fighting to be left alone.
"No! Stop! Stop it, already!!"
"Aww, too old for one of mom's kisses now? Well, then," she tried to act offended. She leaned down and whispered into Ichi's ear. "I'm gonna need you to be the man of the house. We both know that Renji can't handle it alone. So be good. Okay?"
"Yeah..." Ichi replied sullenly.
Rukia set him down next to Sachiko who was grinning at him. He turned his back on the adults and went to go set up Halo 3 on the television.
Sachiko ran up to her mother to kiss her. "Bye, Okaa-san. I'll be good."
Rukia caressed the back of her child's head with a fond smile.
"Thank you. I know you will be."
"Well, I'll be back in an hour or two, Renji. Make sure they don't get into trouble."
"Sure thing."
"Hmm...I wonder if I should bring back some takoyaki for tomorrow's desert. Then again, I do have to wonder if I spoil those two too much."
Rukia waited for the light to turn red, before walking across the street to the other side. That's when she suddenly felt a pang in her chest. That familiar feeling from the past was surging through her like an electric current. She whirled her head around in time to see a building blow up.
She cursed under her breath and ran as far as her legs could carry her. She tossed the bags of food aside so that it wouldn't slow her down. She couldn't have picked a worse time than now to go grocery shopping. Her best chance was to get to her apartment and wait the hollow out and let her shinigami comrades handle it.
It was times like this that she regretted giving up her powers. She mentally cursed herself for the situation at hand. She had to get to the apartment as soon as she could to let Renji handle the job of hollow slaying. She had just turned the corner when she heard another explosion not too far behind her.
She feared that she wouldn't make it in time at this rate. She felt her legs give way beneath her as she collapsed in the middle of the street. A car ahead of her swerved to the side to avoid hitting her and ended up crashing into another car. She saw the humongous worm-like tail of the hollow smash down every car within sight. Rukia could barely duck down and avoid the debris and metal flying through the air.
It was at that moment that time seemed to slow down for her. Just as she was about to get up, she stiffened as she felt her heart beginning to pump faster. Her hand flew up to her chest as if to stop her heart from bursting. She turned around, knowing the hollow would be standing there. She opened her mouth to yell for help as the hollow's fist suddenly flew at her. Rukia put her arms down and gasped as she saw a large back hide her from view.
Those wide shoulders...those big hands...that orange hair. Rukia had forgotten to breathe and was sure that her heart had skipped a beat.
'It's you...Ichigo.' That name sent a pang of pain at her heart as she watched him raise his zanpakutou at the hollow's mask. It roared at his face, but Ichigo neither flinched nor gave any acknowledgment to this as he shunpoed closer to the hollow and in the next instant had hacked off it's arm.
A/N: Well...there you go. LOL. I really am terrible to start another story while I'm still trying to finish I Do, Stranger which I will be uploaded very soon. I just need to finish typing this song into it and edit it some more. I hope you guys liked it. You know the drill. Me wants: review. You: new chapter.