Rin gasped as she landed in Paris, holding a hand over her heart she gently slid to her knees next to the Eiffel tower, panting, and tears pooling with in her eyes.
'He… he's gone. I can't sense him. I could always sense him, no matter where we were. How far apart we are… Mamy,' her thoughts swam as she turned her glance sky bound just in time to see a garganta open.
Her eyes narrowed as she watched the Arrancar enter Paris.
'I have to hide, they'll be looking for this,' Rin thought to herself as she slipped the hogyoku within the shirt of her shihakushō and flash stepped off, leaving a dotted trail of tears in her wake. Her mind drifted as she ran, as much as she tried to focus. The memories replayed in her mind like a silent movie, the time at the river fifty years ago, when she nearly fell in, but Mamoru had pulled her back onto himself instead. When she first learned her shikai, and he'd cheered her on, her smile fell a bit. The day he learned his shikai wasn't as joyous an event.
He'd turned pale, his hands were trembling as his knees had given out, and he'd fallen harshly onto the academy floor, a cold sweat beaded on his brow as he panted, staring off into space like he'd seen the most horrific and powerful hollow in existence. It was only half an accurate assessment of what he had actually seen. He'd seen how he'd been brought into the world, his father had created him and his brother in a lab, and had entrusted a blonde haired, blue eyed female Shinigami to impregnate herself with the embryos if something should happen to him. He then saw that same female Shinigami heavily pregnant, in the depths of the maggot's nest, while Tama, Rin's own mother watched over her as she labored. Tama had delivered his twin brother, and it was in that moment that Mamoru had begun to lose control over his emotions. While Tama cared for the first born boy, the second born was delivered by a member of the fourth squad. Tama had delivered the baby to Kisuke Urahara who put the finishing touches on a special gigai that would slowly turn the baby human over time. He then saw his own blood line from his brother, his nephew, great nephew, and so on.
Then her memory jumped to another memory where each had found happiness, and each had shared a similar negative feeling, embarrassment.
"Hey, why the long face?" 130 year old Mamoru asked as he sat next to Rin on the squad eight roof top.
He didn't bother trying to conceal his shock at her snappy reply, "Haven't you anything better to do?"
"What would that be? What would that something better to do than to check in on my sulky best friend be? I can't think of anything," Mamoru answered without skipping a beat.
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, taking her in. She had begun to change quite a bit recently from when they were kids. Though she made efforts to conceal it, he couldn't help but notice the slight changes. Her skin seemed to almost glow, her hair became oily quicker, and she was beginning to fill out.
He blinked as a thought occurred to him, he sighed a bit as he contemplated how to phrase what he was about to say before offering, "Who knew being a teenager would be like this huh?"
Rin's brow furrowed, giving him the indication that she was listening.
"I mean… I don't know everything you're going through but… if you listen closely, you'll actually hear that my voice is a bit deeper than it used to be," Mamoru offered.
Rin thought for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, about two octaves, I think."
"And my voice squeaks whenever I try to sing," Mamoru offered.
Rin gave a slight smile and nodded a little.
"So what got you so embarrassed that you became a storm cloud?"
Rin's face went tomato red at the question and she pulled her knees to her chest, burying her face into her arms.
Mamoru gently patted Rin's back, "I'm here, you know that right?"
"Blood," Rin answered.
Mamoru's brow furrowed before his eyes widened, "Oh."
"Yeah… I started that thing. I was so embarrassed I didn't want to get up," Rin admitted.
Mamoru chuckled a bit nodding, "In a way I can sort of relate."
Rin scoffed as she rolled her eyes, "I doubt it. I mean my pyjamas were soaked, some of the bedsheets were saturated with it—"
"I get the picture, Rin-chan," Mamoru interrupted.
He blinked in surprise as he saw tears forming in her grey eyes, he noticed the whites of her eyes were already red from crying.
Even more shocking was when he heard her voice shakily state, "I just don't want anyone to see me right now. So just go."
Mamoru scratched the back of his neck, before taking in a deep breath, "A few months ago… I was staying with Aunt Rukia and Uncle Renji. Ichika came in to wake me up a-and-"
He hesitated, biting his lip, he could feel his face heating up all the way to the tips of his ears. His ears were burning from the heat, "-andthebedsheetswerewet. I didn't pee the bed, and it wasn't sweat."
Rin sat with her mouth open as she processed what she'd just heard.
"I-I guess we're both going through some embarrassing stuff," Rin offered.
Her brow furrowed for a bit before turning to him, "Wait a minute—you said months ago but we had a slumber party three weeks ago."
Mamoru looked away shamefully, "I did use your bath house."
"Yeah bu—oh!"
Mamoru suddenly wished there was a hole he could crawl into somewhere. Rin offered a soft smile, "Guys aren't the only ones, ya know?"
Mamoru relaxed a little, and gave a small laugh, "I am aware."
"I'm glad I have you, though. Honestly I didn't want to show my face to anyone today… I've been evading everyone, and everything," Rin admitted.
Mamoru glanced to Rin, "Yet you chose to speak to me. Why?"
Rin gave Mamoru a look that said he already knew the answer, "And when have I ever beat you at tag?"
"Fair enough," Mamoru conceded, he glanced to the green woven bracelet on his left wrist.
"We'll always have each other. I may be faster than you, but you can outwit me quite easily," Mamoru replied.
Rin gave hearty laugh as she shook her head, "Only you. That's because I know you, and let's not forget, my Zanpakuto spirit is a cat, they're often the most cunning of the Zanpakuto spirits… and wild. I guess I have a bit of that wildness too. Sometimes I don't even know what I was thinking of doing until I've actually done it."
Mamoru nodded as he joked, "Even a time master like myself can't predict your erratic tactics."
Rin rolled her eyes before pressing her hand against his forehead, resulting in the brunette boy falling backwards.
"And she knocks me over with one move," He joked again.
Rin gave an amuse smirk, "Right. Like you couldn't stop me if you wanted to."
"That is a bit too true," Mamoru replied.
Rin collapsed to her knees, remembering that day, that conversation, those events. She felt her spiritual pressure beginning to surge out of control. Ice and snow forming around her, and a lump steadily growing within her throat.
She forcefully swallowed, fighting against her own body to get back up to her feet as she entered a large elegant home, right across from the Agreste mansion.
From his bedroom window, a 14- year old boy with sunshine golden hair and emerald eyes watched as a white haired girl, in a strange cosplay outfit and a fake sword attached to her left side at the costume's obi entered the house across the street from him.
'I have a new neighbour? I wonder if I'll get a chance to meet her. At least we have one thing in common, we both like anime,' he thought to himself.
'Maybe… maybe I'll get a chance to become her friend,' The lonely boy thought to himself, a slight rush of happiness flooding him with the thought.
With a shy smile and a slight blush, Adrien walked away from the extravagant window and headed off to his piano practice.
