A/N: Back! After a long break, Tangled Heartstrings returns. Enjoy. Hope you like it.

Tangled Heartstrings

Chapter 2: My Heart Never Forgot

With the hollow being distracted by it's severed arm, Ichigo shunpoed forward, dodging the blows of it's bulky hands. He jumped high over him, his zanpakutou aimed over it's mask. With one flick of his wrist, the mask had cracked and the hollow began to disappear along with it. A glittering glow seemed to envelope Ichigo as he landed in crouch with his zanpakutou over his shoulder.

Rukia clamped a shaking hand over her mouth to keep from calling out to him. Rising onto her legs, she stumbled backward when she saw him get up. She saw that rain was beginning to pour heavily over them.

Holding in a cry, she began running away from the scene before her. She fell into a puddle, her face being smeared with mud. Risking a glance behind her, she saw Ichigo strapping his zanpakutou to his back before ever so slowly, turning around to face whom he had saved. She was on her feet in an instant and was running for all that she was worth.

Ichigo raised a hand to stop the woman from running off, but before he had even spoken a word, she had dashed off.

'That's strange...Why would a hollow attack a normal human? But for an instant I felt some type of reiatsu here.'

Something on the ground caught his eye and he scooped the soaking wet charm from the ground. He turned it over in his hand inquisitively before his eye furrowed immensely.

"I suddenly feel...nostalgic."

He gripped the charm in his fist as he stared off into the heavily pouring rain. After a moment or so, he turned his back on the scene and began walking off.

Ichi sat in complete boredom on the couch as his 'Uncle Renji' snored away next to him. Playing video games and winning each time against a grown wasn't exactly his favorite past time. He sighed heavily and wandered into the kitchen in hopes of some sort of snack to munch on.

He dug into the back of the fridge until he came up with a box half full of strawberries. He had better call Sachiko to eat too since Rukia had originally bought it for both of them. Munching soundly on the fruit, he turned his head this way and thought to catch sight of his sister. He scratched the back of his head when he couldn't spot the pigtailed brunette anywhere.

"Sachiko! Come get 'em before I eat 'em in front of you!"

When she wouldn't answer, he got fed up and went to their room to see what she was up to. He opened the door a crack before pushing it open all the way. He raised an eyebrow at seeing her on the floor drawing pictures. When she saw him, she smiled and showed him the picture she was drawing.

Ichi furrowed his eyebrows at the drawing. "What the hell is it that supposed to be? Don't tell me that's supposed to be me." He glanced down at her warily.

She shaked her head. "No, this is some strange man from my dream last night. I don't think I've ever met him before."

"Be careful. Pretty much everything you draw become reality," Ichi warned, sitting next to her. "Hey...now that I look at it. We have a different eye color. Your drawings are getting better. Just compare them to Rukia's," he chuckled

Sachiko wasn't laughing. She glowered at Ichi, before sticking her tongue out at him. She turned back to look at the picture she had drawn.

"For some reason, it makes me smile when I look at him. He reminds me of you a lot for some reason."

"Did he talk to you?"

"Not very much. He just stood in front of me...he held his hand out to me and mouthed out some words. I think he was saying 'I love you'."

"What the freak. He sounds like a pedophile and don't go talking to strangers, okay?"

Sachiko just gave him a weird look. "What does that mean? You're always using big words around me."

Ichi patted her head. "Forget it. You'll understand when you're older. Come on, let's eat the strawberries before Renji wakes up."

Sachiko frowned. "We're not gonna go raiding through his wallet again, are we?"

Ichi smirked. "Hell yeah!"

Sachiko tugged on Ichi's shirt with disapproval. "Onii-chan, I thought you said you wouldn't do this to Uncle Renji anymore."

Ichi scoffed. "He's the one not doing his job."

"But..."

"Why you little...!You've been stealing from my wallet for who knows how long and even have Sachiko in cahoots with!"

Ichi sat comfortably on the couch, his arms tucked behind his head as he listened to his 'uncle' blabber on and on. Sachiko looked worriedly between her brother and Renji. Her lips quivered as she looked on at the scene unfolding in front of her.

"Let it go, already. What's a few bills to you, anyway?"

"You took ever hundred I had in there!" Renji sighed heavily and tried to recompose himself and not fly off the handle. "Listen, Ichi, if you wanted to buy something that much, I could've just bought it for you. All you have to do is ask. Why don't you give the money back and I'll take you and Sachiko out for Dairy Queen? Huh? What do you say?"

"Reverse pyscology won't work on me. It's amusing you'd resort to that though." Ichi smirked.

Renji ground his teeth together as he stared down at the brat who defied him at more than one occasion. Sachiko pulled on her Uncle Renji's pant-leg and smiled at him.

"Don't listen to Ichi. Come on. Let's go wait for Okaa-san."

Renji nodded as he let her tug him along to the living room. Ichi glowered at this, his arms still crossed together as he unwillingly followed them.

"I want to make cupcakes with Okaa-san when she comes home."

"You aren't full after all the take out we ordered? You really are amazing, Sachiko," Renji chuckled.

Sachiko smiled at him as she climbed the couch next to him.

"Is it okay if I play with your hair?"

Renji gave her a bewildered expression. "Wh-what? Why??"

"I always like your hair color and sometimes I even imagine what different hairstyles I could give you to make you look even more handsome."

Renji patted Sachiko on the head. "You're such a sweet talker. I can guarantee you will be a heart-breaker one day."

"Hmm?" She tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"You'll get it when you're older."

"So...mind telling me how you really got that scrape on your knee?"

Renji watched her curiously through narrowed eyes. "You're not usually one to keep a secret. It's a good thing the kids didn't notice if that's the case."

Rukia looked down at her lap, her hands clenching around her dress. Her bangs hid her eyes from view.

"...I saw him today."

Renji looked confused for a minute, before realization came hitting him like a ton of bricks. He sat down next to Rukia, leaning his elbows on his knees as he continued to watch her.

"...Did he say something to you?"

"I ran before he had a chance to. I don't think he saw my face."

"Then maybe it'll be okay as long as he doesn't lay eyes on you."

"...I-I wanted him to see me. I even hoped that if I lingered there a bit longer, he'd turn around to look at me. But apart of me was scared he'd be angry and shun me. It was hard enough losing him the first time. I don't need another reason to hate him."

Renji stood up and clamped his hands down onto Rukia's slim shoulders. Rukia looked up in confusion.

"We can take Ichi and Sachiko with us to Soul Society! Please, Rukia, I don't want you to go through this again."

Rukia shook her head. "No. Nii-sama would never accept me. Not after betraying him the way I did."

"Then we'll go somewhere far like America. You can get a new job and have a house in a nice neighborhood. You can even get a dog for the kids with an open yard for them to play in." Renji grabbed Rukia's hands in his. "I can give you everything to ensure that you and the kids will live safe and comfortably."

Rukia's expression softened. "Oh, Renji...I'm sorry that I even got you in the middle of all this. That day...my 'supposed' wedding day, you had to fight Ichigo so I could get away. And you helped me through those long, painful months of pregnancy. I don't know where I would be or what I would've done without you, Renji. I love you."

While Renji knew what type of love she was speaking of, he knew that he wanted to let her know now more than ever, everything that he had ever bottled up for her sake.

"R-rukia, I-

"You're my most important friend, Renji. I care about you so much."

Renji sighed inwardly at hearing this. How he grew tired of hearing it so often. He knew that there was slim to no chance that she had ever even suspected him of having intimate feelings for her. When a man is told by the woman he loves that he's 'just a friend', he'd prefer to be dead than have to live an eternity without ever being loved back by her. How he had managed grinning and bearing it, he himself wasn't sure. He just loved her too much to ever hate her for being that blind toward his feelings.

"I- umm you too." He swallowed. "I mean you're my best friend. I'll take care of you for as long as you want," he said awkwardly.

Rukia smiled at him tenderly. "I feel like my thanks will never be enough but someday I'll repay you."

"Don't be stupid." Renji snorted as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I said I'd take care of you and that's enough. I need you to tell me whether you'll consider leaving with me."

"...I've always known that if we me again someday, there would be nothing be tension, anger and sorrow between us. But whether he's angry or not, I can't let him find out about Ichi and Sachiko."

"That's why I say we should move!" Renji insisted.

"Not yet. There's still something I have to do here," she said with a look of determination.

2 weeks later

"Ichi! Sachiko! Come get your lunch! You don't want to be late on your first day!"

Ichi came walking in, dressed and alert. Rukia ruffled his hair to his dismay and he scowled stubbornly.

"Made you a special bento for your first day. I trust that if you or Sachiko get lost, you'll help each other."

"Yeah."

Sachiko came running in a few minutes later, her hair like a puffball from attempting to do her herself.

"Okaa-san? Can you help me make pigtails?"

"Come here." Rukia sat her daughter down on her lap as she gave gentle strokes through Sachiko's ebony mane of hair. "There. You look very cute."

Sachiko smiled brightly at her mother, her hands gripping her bunny backpack tightly.

"Can we go now, Rukia?"

"It's 'okaa-san' to you. And I'm not taking you. Renji is."

As if on cue, Renji entered the kitchen. "Hey, kiddos. Excited for your first day?"

"Oh heeeell no..." Ichi jumped backward, his fists out in front of him as if ready for a fight. He relaxed after a second. "Sorry. Reflex."

Renji gave him a mild look as he walked past him. "You gonna take us or not? We don't have all day."

"Ichi, don't be so rude!" Rukia and Sachiko shouted simultaneously.

Sachiko chased after him while Renji and Rukia stared after them.

"They'll be fine. Minoru will be with them too."

"Yeah, you're right. Renji, let's have dinner tonight if you come home from work early. I'm making yakisoba."

Renji grinned. "You know just what to make to lure me here. Okay, I'll see you at seven."

Rukia leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Have a great day. Call me during lunch break."

"Yeah..." Renji glanced down, his face slightly flustered as he tried to duck away and walk out.

Rukia walked into the perfume department, the first thing she sees is Orihime's smiling face.

"Kuchiki-san, over here!" Orihime pulled out a bottle of perfume out from a gray and blue box. "This just came in. I'll let you be the first to try it."

She sprayed some on Rukia's neck. "Hmm...that smells really sweet. Like blueberries and lime or something."

"Isn't it?" she chirped. "I sent this perfume to Avon and they actually used it. See? They even named it after me. Tanabata Hime."

"That's great, Inoue. While your food mixing are questionable, you might be able to start your own perfume business."

"I hope so." She smiled. "I'm thinking of selling a few samples over at Karakura High."

"Oh, yeah, how're things going over there? What year are you teaching now?"

"It's great. I work so well with other teachers and my students are wonderful. A few rebels in there but what group doesn't have a few, right? I decided to teach Algebra I for freshmen."

"Sounds great. I don't think I would be able to put up with them. I'm glad I didn't go out for a teaching career. I probably wouldn't be good at it, anyway." Rukia shrugged.

"That's not true. I bet you would've been a wonderful teacher if you had wanted to be. Speaking of which, Ichi and Sachiko are entering their first day of school with Minoru. I bet they'll make all sorts of new friends today," she chirped.

Rukia opened her mouth to reply but she didn't have a chance to say anything. Orihime gasped as she felt arms wrap around her waist and pulled her into a lean, firm chest. She smiled up at her husband with loving eyes. Uryue tilted her head back to kiss her better as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers'.

Rukia turned her head way in embarrassment. They always did this around her. She couldn't help, but get a little embarrassed. They were always like this around her no matter where they were. Uryue finally looked and noticed Rukia for the first time.

"Oh, hey, Rukia."

"Hey, Ishida. I've seen your latest clothing line in stores. I'm wearing this thanks to you."

Rukia gestured at the magenta spaghetti with wisps of silky material lining the neckline of the blouse. It had a brilliant black rose pattern trailing down from the right shoulder to the left hip. It had an elegant feel to it that would make any woman glow with merriment.

"The company I work with liked the designs I made so much, they decided to use it for next month's fashion show."

Rukia smiled jubilantly. "That's great to hear. You know how much I love those dresses you make."

Uryue tilted his glasses back, the light flashing across them. He seemed to be happy from the compliment.

"Well, you are the one who inspired me to make them. Right before returning to the real world, I made you that dress according to your taste in clothing. I never imagined they'd sell this well."

"You'd better give me my share of the credit, you here?" Rukia giggled.

"Of course. I wouldn't settle for less than fifty-fifty."

Rukia gawked at Uryue. "...I was just joking. There's really no need for you to to that." She waved her hand in dismissal.

Uryue smiled at her. "You deserve it. With you being mother of the year in everyone's eyes."

Rukia shook her head, smiling almost sadly. 'I'm not a wonderful mother.'

"Thank you, Ishida." She said finally.

Orihime looked down at the ground indecisively before something came to mind. She rose her index finger above as she finally figured it out.

"That's right! Kuchiki-san, we have a new worker in the lady's department. I want to introduce you." Orihime giggled and waved her over to follow her.

Rukia stumbled as she tried her best to keep up with her over-excited friend. They turned around a corner where a tower of shoe boxes stood. She could make out back of a man helping a flirty woman put on a high heeled strappy. Orihime stepped forward and called to the young man, anticipation rolling off her shoulders. Rukia looked on in curiosity as Orihime motioned for her to come closer.

She gasped as the man looked up slowly to glance up at her. A fraction of a second before their eyes met, Rukia pushed the tower of shoe boxes down and made a quick get-away down elevator.

"What...the hell?" Ichigo groaned, rubbing his head. 'What's wrong with that woman?'

A/N: How many of you saw THAT coming? LOL. Ichigo working in the lady's department I mean. He's back after six years...what do you think will happen? Find out by R/R ing for me.