Chapter 2 The Brewing of a Storm
Sunday morning came with a pleasant scent in the air, as the first sakura flowers blossoms appeared. The sun was shining brightly in the cloudless sky and it was warmer than usual for this time of the year. It was, in all senses, a perfect day. Of course, Ichigo could not tell that due to the fact that at 8 a.m. he was still sleeping, but he was having a nice although somewhat vague dream about him and a petite raven haired girl holding hands, looking into each other's eyes, leaning closer to each other….
"Wake up, Ichigooooooooooo!!!" a loud voice accompanied by a soft thud on his chest urged.
Ichigo's dream shattered into pieces and he closed his fist around something squeaky and fluffy. He was surprised that this time, it was not his father the one who tried to wake him up with a kick or a punch. He opened his eyes just a bit to notice Kon, the modified soul in the stuffed teddy bear almost choke to death in his grip. He threw him straight into the closet's door, groaned due to the bright light coming from the window and turned on the other side, hoping to go back to sleep and continue the dream that had left him with a warm sensation inside, but which he already could not remember.
"You're so mean to me when I'm only trying to please Nee-san" Kon complained, gathering himself from the floor where he had slid after the strong impact with the closet door.
"Hmmm…?" Ichigo asked when Kon's mentioning 'Nee-san' made the image or Rukia pop into his head, faintly reminding him of the dream he was having before. "Rukia wants something at this ungodly hour of the morning on a Sunday?" he mumbled. "This is the second time this week that she wakes me up early, if this is becoming some sort of habit, I'm definitely gonna kick her out of my closet".
"It's not Nee-san's fault you're so lazy, Ichigo" Kon said, trying to get the dust out of him. "She asked me to wake you up since she wants you to go with her to Urahara's shop for her to buy more Soul Candy. She's taking a shower right now and she'll probably be out and ready in a matter of minutes. I don't want her to blame me for your laziness, so get up and get ready to go!"
Kon went to the bed and tried to pull the cover off Ichigo, who had gripped his covers tightly and grumbled: "Go away and let me sleep or you'll have your stuffing on the outside, you pest!" His foggy mind was definitely in need of more sleep since the mention of Rukia in the shower somehow managed to make him blush out of the blue.
Kon didn't mind Ichigo, instead climbed up on the bed again and started to jump up and down on Ichigo's back. "I want to accomplish the mission Nee-san entrusted me with, so that when she's back, she'll be so grateful that she'll allow me in her Valley of the Gods where…"
SQUEAK! Ichigo turned around and opened his eyes again at the sound, only to see an annoyed looking Rukia strangling Kon. She was wearing a pale blue dress that complimented her small frame and the color of her eyes which were very luminous due to the bright light outside.
"Ichigo, while this good for nothing stuffed animal may have said a lot of unnecessary and completely absurd things, he was right about my wanting you to join me to Urahara's shop. The truth is I'm not going there only for the Soul Candy. I woke up early this morning…"
At this point Ichigo mumbled under his breath 'As I was saying, becoming a habit, it's damn early even now for a Sunday'
"And decided to go out for a walk rather than look out the window and risk disturbing your sleep…"
Ichigo mumbled again "damn right, that's the least you can do seeing as you're staying in my closet and all that"
Rukia pretended she didn't hear the comments and went on. "And something weird happened: I had a hollow alert on my phone (it was not a phone actually, it was a denreishinki*, a cell phone-like device used by shinigami to receive orders from Soul Society, but she called it phone for the ease of use and to avoid suspicion in case someone heard them talking) but then almost instantly it was gone. Also, I felt a very powerful and strange reiatsu for a second, but then it was also gone." By this time, Ichigo was wide awake and alert, already out of the bed and on his feet. "I shunpo*-ed to the location but by the time I got there, there was nothing for me to see", Rukia continued.
"I tried calling Soul Society to ask if they knew anything about this but they didn't have anything to say about it, they didn't notice anything weird. Maybe I'm making too much out of nothing at all, but I'd rather be sure, and that's why I also want to ask Urahara about it. After all, he's here in the real world so he should have felt that reiatsu." she added grimly. She had never expected the peace and quiet to last very long and she was very afraid that this was the beginning of a new time of turmoil.
"Right then", Ichigo said. "You can wait for me outside while I change and I'll be with you in a minute, after I tell Yuzu that I won't be having any breakfast. Make sure they don't see you going out my window though, remember they think you found a new place to live". He was almost out the door heading towards the bathroom, a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, socks and underwear under his arm, when he stopped and added as an afterthought: "Oh and you might want to release Kon from that grip any second. He looks like he's about to pass away and if your intuition is correct, I might need him soon".
During their serious dialogue, none of them had noticed the muffled panicked sounds coming from somewhere in the vicinity of Rukia's fist. Rukia suddenly remembered Kon, and she released the now blue-looking stuffed animal. "I'm sorry, Kon, I had forgotten about you." Kon muttered that that day everyone seemed to derive pleasure from cutting off his air supply. Rukia ignored him as she also remembered why it was that she was punishing him in the first place. "On a second thought, I'm not sorry; you deserved that for what you said. Aren't you ever going to learn?" With that she stuffed Kon into her backpack and got out the window.
*****
Urahara's shop was open for business despite the early hour and it being Sunday, and Rukia couldn't suppress a stinging thought directed to its hungry for money, ridiculous owner. The said owner was enjoying a cup of hot tea outside the shop, watching Ururu sweeping around. When he saw Rukia and Ichigo, he opened his fan to cover the lower part of his face.
"Ara, what a nice surprise. Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki-kun, what brings you to my humble shop so early in the morning?" Urahara Kisuke asked in a fake innocent voice, feigning amazement.
"Ask Rukia, she was the one with the idea of coming to see you this early in the morning, not to mention she's the one with questions for you" Ichigo said sitting down next to Urahara.
"Yes, well, you were probably sleeping through it" Urahara said in a slightly amused tone that Ichigo didn't miss, despite the remains of his drowsiness.
"What was that, Sandal-Hat?" Ichigo said menacingly. He had had an eventful enough morning and had to put up with Kon, so he wasn't willing to take any more from Urahara too.
"Never mind that", Rukia said quickly. "Urahara-san, so you did notice something strange this morning, did you not?" she asked, scrutinizing him.
"Something…strange? Like what, Kuchiki-san?"
"Come on, Urahara, you must have felt the powerful reiatsu that I felt about an hour ago. I got a hollow alert on my phone, which disappeared almost instantly and then I felt this very powerful though somehow strange reiatsu which was also gone immediately. I don't know what to make of it, but I'm sure you must have an idea", Rukia said with a frown, pacing in front of Ichigo and Urahara. She really wanted to think that the whole thing was just the result of her phone malfunctioning but she couldn't allow herself to be so complacent. She was here to watch over Karakura town and she intended to do just that. She couldn't just ignore a possible threat for the sake of living an oblivious peaceful life in the real world.
"Indeed, I did feel something back then, but to be honest, I have no idea what it was. It couldn't have been a shinigami, though the reiatsu was somewhat similar. It felt wrong though, so that couldn't have been it. I doubt it was an arrancar since none is supposed to be left, plus it didn't quite fit with that profile either." Urahara sipped a bit from his tea and continued. "Quite frankly, I don't think I have ever come across something like that before".
"And you're probably right about that" a low voice interrupted, and Ichigo and Rukia turned to see a black cat coming from behind them. It passed by them and curled itself on Urahara's lap, who put down his tea and fan in order to pet it.
"Yoruichi!" Ichigo exclaimed, surprised to see the former 2nd division captain in her feline form. Both Rukia and Ichigo noticed how familiar she was acting towards Urahara even while in cat shape and how Urahara responded, and they both blushed thinking about the other positive consequences of the war: everyone valued the time left with the persons they cared about much more. The war had definitely brought Urahara and Yoruichi closer.
"What do you mean by that, Yoruichi-san?" Rukia asked, recollecting herself first.
"Well, I went to investigate things back in Soul Society and though I couldn't find out anything for sure, the rumors are that the 12th division is doing some experiments. So what you felt an hour ago must have been a test of some sort and that's why I said it's probably nothing you've ever encountered before. It's probably all brand new and kept secret for the moment, thus my lack of information" Yoruichi added. Ichigo and Rukia went back to blushing when they noticed she was purring rather loudly.
This time Ichigo managed to get over his embarrassment first, letting his temper flare up. "That crazy psycho Kurotsuchi! Why can't he just keep his tests and experiment within the boundaries of Soul Society? And if he really has to test something in the real world, can't he freakin' let someone know about it so that we don't worry down here?" He couldn't believe that he had been woken up and rushed into going to Urahara's store just because that insane bastard Kurotsuchi was playing in his lab and out of it. "He probably doesn't even think to bother himself to announce us, insects, that he's fooling around with God knows what in my town. Why the hell did he have to pick Karakura of all places? Does he think we lacked action here in the past few months?!?!? Really, this is out of line. I'm going home!" he said grumpily, standing up.
"Ichigo, sorry for overreacting about this", Rukia said with a sigh that was half relief and half regret for having disturbed Ichigo too early the second time that week, "you can go ahead home and get some breakfast while I buy some Soul Candy and I'll join you later".
"OK, I'll do that! See ya!" he said, waving and heading towards home.
Meanwhile, Urahara was asking Yoruichi: "How was Soi Fon doing? How's her hand?"
"Kurotsuchi managed to create an artificial one for her which looks very natural, and it's the best she could have hoped for. And this just proves that the 12th division does some good things also, these tests are not just for the heck of it" Yoruichi said. "I'm surprised you're concerned about her though, after all, she did ask Ushouda Hachigen to lock you inside his barrier for a month as a special favor" she added with a grin on her feline face. "Well, since that trick Soi Fon helped him with didn't actually work and Ushouda had to sacrifice his own hand in the end, she reconsidered so I can't really hold it against her" Urahara said magnanimously. "Besides, you know it's your fault she doesn't stand me, she's jealous of your affection for me", he added with a barely covered smile.
"Ano…" Rukia said, trying to get their attention. "Urahara-san, Yoruichi-san, I understand that this must have been a harmless test, but I just want to say that it's my mission now to watch over Karakura town and I'd really like you to keep me posted if anything happens or if you find anything more about these experiments. I have a bad feeling about this." Rukia said, following Urahara into the shop, where he looked for her favorite, the Chappy Soul Candy.
Yoruichi, who had perched herself on the counter, was the one who answered, as Urahara was contentedly humming to himself while packing Rukia's merchandise. "Don't worry, Rukia-chan, if there's any news, I'll let you know". Rukia nodded gratefully, paid for the Soul Candy and took her leave.
*****
Rukia had only made a couple of dozen paces before noticing that Ichigo was standing next to a sakura tree, waiting for her. Her heart leapt with joy to see that he didn't actually go ahead of her. His outrageous orange hair looked like it was aflame in the morning light and his brown eyes looked very warm as he turned his head hearing her approach.
"I thought you were going to get breakfast…?" she asked when she reached him.
"Yeah, I thought that too, but then I figured I might as well wait up for you" he said in a serious tone. He looked at her intensely and Rukia thought that this was probably a consequence of seeing Urahara and Yoruichi together. After all, she felt the same: they should enjoy the peaceful time they had together because during the war there were so many times when she thought that either she or he was going to die and the thought still had the power to stop her heart for a moment.
"I was thinking that this is a really nice day and we should take advantage of it by…I don't know, doing something together". Yes, we're on the same wave length, Rukia thought, blushing for some unknown reason and noticing that Ichigo had a faint blush on his face too, when he hurriedly added: "I mean, doing something together, all of us: you, me, Chado, Inoue, Tatsuki and Ishida. Just hang out for a change, do something fun". Rukia nodded, as she liked the idea very much. Except for Tatsuki, their friends had been involved in the war too, and at any moment any of them could have died, and she was very grateful that they were all alive. Suddenly, it was very important to spend as much time together as possible.
"Well, let's call them and ask if they have any plans for the day, shall we?" Rukia asked. "I'll call Orihime and ask her to talk to Tatsuki, and you can call Chado and Ishida, OK?"
"No way am I calling Ishida, Rukia! You call him, as the pompous ass seems to respect you more, despite your being a shinigami, then he likes me, although I'm just a substitute shinigami. I'll call Inoue instead".
They made their respective calls and they also let their friends know – except for Tatsuki –about what Urahara said concerning the strange reiatsu that morning; they were sure that their friends have felt it too, at least Ishida who had an uncanny ability to discern reiatsu, and they assured everyone that if there's any news, they'll let them now and that they shouldn't worry for now. Regarding the issue of spending the day together, they decided to meet in an hour at the park and take it from there. Rukia and Ichigo hurried home where Ichigo had breakfast in a hurry, and Rukia left Kon in Ichigo's room, the stuffed animal still complaining about the unfair treatment he was receiving. When they reached the park, the group was already assembled, with two unexpected and not completely wanted additions: Keigo and Mizuiro. They were desperate to ask someone for help with their English homework as they had done pretty badly at the test, and they were at Tatsuki's place, begging for her help, when Orihime had called. When Tatsuki had told them that she couldn't assist them due to the fact that she was meeting with the rest of the group to spend the day together, they were suddenly all too willing to forget about the homework and invite themselves along.
They decided to go to a movie first. The decision was hard to make as Rukia had wanted to see an animation about animals – rabbits included – and Orihime agreed enthusiastically, Keigo and Mizuiro would have opted for a lecherous movie that they probably wouldn't have been allowed to in any case, Tatsuki, Ichigo and Chado had wanted an action movie while Ishida criticized every single one of them, not opting for anything in particular. In the end, they watched the action movie, seeing as the majority had voted for it. Then they decided to have some lunch, and Orihime's choice of chicken salad with caramel topping made everyone roll their eyes and sweat drop. They talked about a lot of unimportant things during lunch but there was a lot of laughter involved and everyone felt very good.
When they were done eating, they decided to go to the arcade and play some video games, where Rukia and Ichigo had a shouting match due to the fact that they had competed in a car race game and Ichigo was accusing Rukia of cheating to hide his displeasure in having been beaten by a girl who wasn't even a normal real world girl to begin with, but a shinigami. Orihime and Tatsuki managed to calm things down – Orihime by pleading and Tatsuki by threatening them with a good beating – while Keigo and Mizuiro laughed hard, Chado observed everything quietly and Ishida pretended he was not part of such an infantile group.
They left towards the park where they would part ways, Tatsuki picking on Keigo and Mizuiro this time for not helping stop the fight and doing things worse by laughing so hard, Ichigo and Chado were commenting on the movie with Ishida antagonizing Ichigo at every turn, while Rukia was left to walk besides Orihime. They were quiet, not talking, but just walking side by side, enjoying the evening and the happy atmosphere surrounding their group.
Rukia noticed how tenderly Orihime was watching her friends and one friend in particular, and she realized that besides herself, Orihime was the only girl in their group who had witnessed the war, and it showed. While the guys seemed all too happy to forget all about the horrors they had been through and go on with their lives as if nothing had happened, Rukia was sure that Orihime, just like her, was thinking back of all they had been through and was considering these times spent together very precious. Rukia could not stop herself from thinking about how this war had affected Orihime's feelings for Ichigo, in light of Urahara and Yoruichi's new closeness. She knew Orihime cared deeply for Ichigo ever since a long time ago, but she was guessing she now loved him even more after realizing how easily he could have died during the numerous battles of the war. She understood that perfectly since it was something she was feeling herself….NO! No, she wasn't feeling the exact same thing; she was just feeling a lot of affection for Ichigo, who was her best friend, that was all. But then why was there a stab of a pain in her heart, watching Orihime watching Ichigo, and thinking that Ichigo had done his best to save Orihime just as he had done for Rukia before?
Her thoughts were disturbed by a distant rumbling sound and she realized that they had reached the park, and that the sky was covered in dark clouds. She said her goodbyes to her friends and then proceeded to going back home with Ichigo, still lost in thoughts. A storm was definitely brewing out there, and she so didn't want to be in the center of it when it hit.
*definition of denreishinki taken from the Bleach Encyclopedia on
*shunpo means "flash step", a technique in which a shinigami gathers spiritual energy at their feet, in order to cross large distances in a single step; the users move at lightning speed, almost instantaneous.
