Disclaimer- I don't own Beach yet, but I'll let you know when hell freezes over and piggies start flying.

Chapter 4

Return From the Dead

Without a single glance back, Sayomi picked up her fallen bag and left the building, disappearing in a flash of movement. In moments, she had maneuvered her way over the many buildings and roofs that were between her and the familiar reiatsu. Landing lightly on her toes and lowering herself on to her feet, Sayomi stood atop a cream colored brick fence that rose about five feet off the ground. The street she was on was dark and she was hidden from view by the thick shadows provided by a large tree that towered over the fence.

The scene before her made her gasp. She had been so focused on the one single reiatsu, she hadn't noticed that there were others there as well. Four others to be exact.

There was a body of a black haired boy lying on the ground a few feet from the scene that was playing out in the middle of a deserted and dark street.

"Uryu," Sayomi whispered, concerned for the person that lay on the ground.

She could tell even from her position that he wasn't in danger of dying. She looked up to see that Ichigo stood defiantly facing a tall red headed Soul Reaper, she knew he was a Soul Reaper by the black uniform he wore, who was holding a large sectioned sword, with fang like protrusions extending from each section.

She quickly took in the wound to Ichigo's right shoulder which was bleeding freely through the torn black fabric of the shinigami uniform he wore. Her eyes then wandered around the street before her and she noticed the black haired girl she had seen at the school almost two months before, she was standing helplessly a few feet behind the red haired Soul Reaper, watching the events with wide, worried eyes.

It wasn't any of those people though that nearly caused her to lose her balance on the brick wall. Standing a few feet to the left of the black haired girl was a man with long black haired in the standard Soul Reaper uniform, but with an exquisite pink tinted scarf wrapped around his neck and silver tubes in his hair. Kenseikan, they signified that he was nobility, and the head of his clan at that.

Sayomi hadn't drawn any attention to herself as she watched from about fifty feet away, she was used to repressing her reiatsu and was able to move as quietly and nimbly as a cat when she wanted to while in human form. She stood completely still, unsure of what to do, a part of her wanted to intervene on Ichigo's behalf, but she knew that Ichigo was prideful and wouldn't want any help from her. He also didn't know who she really was and she wasn't sure she wanted him to know, on top of that she would be revealing to Soul Reapers, people she hated, that she was alive and well and hiding out in Karakura Town.

'You don't hate them all, Sayomi-sama,' Fuyukaze's quiet, breezy voice said quietly to her.

A pained look crossed her face for a moment, 'No I don't. He probably thinks I'm dead though, should I really reveal myself to him. I'm almost surprised he hasn't noticed me. He was always able to sense me, even when I was suppressing my reiatsu.'

'It's been a long time, little hime,' Fuyukaze replied using the nickname he used to call her when she was still in Soul Society.

Sayomi sighed inwardly and watched as Ichigo seemed to lose all his strength and fall to the ground after a nasty run in with the red head's sectional zanpakuto. Her eyes widened in surprise a few seconds later when reiatsu began to pour from the orange haired Ichigo and he stood back up with a smirk.

The red head charged at Ichigo but was thrown backwards as Ichigo sliced through the air with his over sized sword. There was a cracking noise as the sunglasses that had been on the red head's forehead cracked and slid off his face to the pavement below him. Blood poured from the cut to the man's head as he stared at Ichigo, who was preparing to attack again.

He never got the chance though as the blade of his sword seemed to suddenly disappear a few inches away from the guard.

Sayomi's eyes widened as the black haired nobleman dropped the sword's blade to the ground, it hadn't appeared even to her quick eyes that he had moved an inch. She had seen the brief flash of color from his scarf, but that had been it. The instant after the blade had clattered to the ground the man moved again. This time Sayomi's eyes followed every move he made, and he didn't make many.

"No," Sayomi whispered as she saw the glint of steel in the moonlight, there were two flashes and then the noble was standing stoically beside Ichigo.

The metallic and bitter smell of blood suddenly pervaded the air and engulfed Sayomi's senses as Ichigo slowly fell face first to the ground. The black haired girl shouted and ran towards the fallen Ichigo, but was pinned to a telephone post by the red haired Soul Reaper after taking only a few steps.

She didn't hear the words that were exchanged in the next few seconds, but she did see Ichigo's shaky hand rise up to grasp onto the hem of the black haired man's hakama. She saw the look of annoyance that crossed the man's face as he slowly began to raise a white gloved hand to the hilt of his sword that was at his side.

In that instant, Sayomi had made her decision.

A cool breeze that carried the scent of snow and something like pine and dirt swirled up a small amount of dust from the pavement as Sayomi landed in a crouch, one knee on the ground, the other near her chest. Her right hand was held out to her side, holding Ichigo's wrist that she had grabbed in order to remove his hand from the nobleman's hakama, the other hand was holding the sheath of her sword near the guard as she rested the item on her raised knee. Her head was bowed and her face hidden from view.

"Who the hell are you," the red head growled at her.

Sayomi remained silent and kept her head bowed.

There was a rustle of movement as the red head decided he was going to charge at her. Her moves were so quick and fluid that the red head was stunned when he found himself inexplicably pinned to the ground, the blade of a pure silver katana at his throat. His dark eyes looked in to the pale blue eyes of the girl who now stood over him, her face was a mask of coldness.

"Who are you, woman," the nobleman behind her demanded coldly.

"Have you forgotten me already," Sayomi asked calmly. "Byakuya Kuchiki."

Sayomi sheathed her sword and slowly turned around. Her blue eyes met the cold, steely gaze of the nobleman before her.

"Impossible," Byakuya scoffed.

"That's what I thought when I felt your reiatsu," she replied conversationally.

"You're supposed to be dead," Byakuya said.

"Yes, well, so are you," she replied.

"Captain, who is she," the red head asked.

"Sayomi Himura," Byakuya stated.

"The former captain and heiress to the old Himura clan," the red head asked, surprised. "I thought she was dead."

"It would seem that wasn't the case," Byakuya answered, his eyes had never once left the girl standing before him.

"But what is she-"

"Renji," Byakuya snapped coldly at the red head.

"Yes, captain," he replied as he stood up and turned around.

Sayomi heard him mutter a command and heard the sound of wooden screens sliding apart.

"I will leave the boy alive, for now. As for you, I would suggest returning to the dead," Byakuya said to Sayomi.

"So that's the only greeting I get from you after all these years," Sayomi asked.

"You are dead, and I have nothing further to say to you," Byakuya answered coldly.

Sayomi continued to stare at him defiantly, but a part of her broke and she felt as if she could cry, but she wouldn't. Not here, not after everything she had gone through. What should it matter to her anyway how this nobleman treated her, they had both thought the other to be dead. They had both moved on in their lives and there was no longer a connection between them that mattered.

The nobleman turned away from her and began to walk towards the open screen doors, the black haired girl following along after him.

Ichigo, who until then had been looking confusedly between her and Byakuya, looked up at the departing girl.

"Rukia, what are you doing," he asked.

The girl turned towards him, tears swimming in her purple eyes, "Don't move, Ichigo. Don't come after me, just lie there and live a little longer."

"Rukia, you can't be serious," Ichigo said.

"If you move an inch from there or try coming after me, I will never forgive you," the girl said before turning away and following after the two males who had already walked through the gate that lead to another world, a world Sayomi had left a long time ago.

Sayomi watched with a secret longing as the first set of doors began to slide shut, she saw the gray eyes of Byakuya look back at her briefly before the doors shut with a clack and began to disappear back into the dark night.

There were a few grunts from Ichigo as large raindrops began to fall from the sky, pattering onto the ground softly.

Sayomi walked back to Ichigo and knelt beside him with a sigh.

"What the hell were you thinking, Ichigo," she said quietly.

"Sayomi, how..."

"Don't worry about that right now," she told him.

The rain had began to fall heavier, and Sayomi was quickly becoming drenched in the downpour. There was a sudden break in the rain and Sayomi looked up to see that Kisuke Urahara stood over her and Ichigo, an umbrella in his hand, he smiled softly at her.

"I want to know what you had to do with this Kisuke," she said as she stood up.

"For now we should concentrate on helping your friends here," he replied.

"Where's Tessai," she asked.

"I'm over here," the large man replied as he stepped out of the shadows.

"Help Ichigo, I'll help Uryu," she said to the large man.

Tessai nodded and handed her a small box and an umbrella.

"Thanks," she said as she walked towards the dark haired boy that was now sitting up.

"Do you think she'll be alright," Tessai asked Kisuke quietly as he knelt down to examine Ichigo's wounds.

Kisuke sighed, and scratched at his head. "She's strong, she always has been. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Hey Uryu," Sayomi said as she approached the black haired boy.

Uryu looked up and was surprised to see Sayomi smiling kindly down at him. He pushed his glasses up on his nose to cover his surprise and cleared his throat.

"Sayomi, what are you doing here," he asked.

"I should ask you the same thing Uryu. You should have known they were too strong for you," Sayomi replied as she looked down at the cut to his side.

Uryu seemed speechless for a moment before he sighed. "I knew something was different about you."

Sayomi chuckled, it sounded sad though instead of amused, "I figured as much, but anyways let me see the wound."

"I'm fine," Uryu replied indignantly.

Sayomi sighed and sat down beside him, lifting his shirt to reveal a bleeding gash just below his ribs. Ignoring Uryu's attempts to get her to leave him alone and brush her off, she poked at the skin under the wound.

Uryu winced and hissed at the pain her antics had caused.

"You're fine, huh," she teased, as she set her zanpakuto beside her and opened the small box Tessai had given her.

"So are you a Soul Reaper then," Uryu asked.

"No," she answered, without looking up as she dabbed at the cut with a piece of gauze. "Now, hold still, I haven't done this in a while."

Sayomi placed her palm before the cut and a green glow emitted from her hands and flowed into the wound, which began to slowly knit itself back together. The wound was mostly closed when she lowered her hand, a bright red line was now the only sign of the wound that had been there.

"Let me wrap it, and then just be careful not to reopen it," she said as she reached into the small box beside her for a roll of white bandages.

Uryu stuttered out a denial and quickly stood up, smoothing out his shirt as he did so.

Sayomi looked up and noticed he was bright red, she quirked a brow at him.

"No, I'm fine thank you," he said to her.

"Ok, but don't whine to me if you reopen it and wind up bleeding to death," Sayomi replied with a shrug.

"So who are you, really," Uryu asked her.

Sayomi sighed and looked down at her hands. "I am Sayomi Himura, daughter of Hiroshi and Mai Himura."

"You know what I mean, were you a Soul Reaper," Uryu asked.

"I hate Soul Reapers," Sayomi answered quietly. "They fear too easily, that which they do not understand."

Uryu stared down at her in confusion, but also in understanding, he understood what she meant by her words, but didn't know how the words applied to her.

"So then what are you?"

"I am.... nothing. I am dead to everyone who ever cared about me, and I have no friends in this world or any other for that matter," she said quietly.

"You're wrong," Uryu said to her.

Sayomi looked up at him, surprised.

"I'm your friend," he said to her.

Sayomi smiled. "Thank you, Uryu. One day I'll tell you my story, but not now."

"Whenever you're ready then," he said to her.

Her and Uryu had become relatively good friends in the few years since Sayomi had begun to attend the school in Karakura town. They were both fairly quite, reserved and didn't particularly like the company of others, and somehow they had managed to become friends because of that. They would always wind up eating together and studying together, neither one minding the others silence. Of course Sayomi was also friends with Ichigo and a few of the other students but she tended to prefer Uryu's company to the others, they would all eat together or hang out every now and then but not frequently.

"I see Sayomi patched you up pretty well," Kisuke said cheerily from behind Uryu.

Uryu turned to look at the blond, whose eyes as usual were hidden under the brim of his green and white bucket hat.

"Yeah, she did. I'm going to be going home now. Take care of Ichigo, because it's obvious that if anyone's going to be able to save Rukia, it's him and not me," Uryu replied as he turned, pushing his glasses up in his nose.

Sayomi frowned. "Rukia was the girl with Byakuya right?"

Kisuke nodded. "Yes, she's his sister."

"His sister, but that's not possible," Sayomi said.

"Umm, well...."

"Kisuke, tell me whatever it is that you're not saying," Sayomi ordered coldly.

"Well, you see she's his sister.... in...law," Kisuke replied awkwardly.

Sayomi gasped and her eyes widened. She swallowed and stood up from the ground quickly, grabbing her sword as she did so.

"I see. Excuse me," she muttered before turning and beginning to walk away from everyone, picking up the black bag she had left under the tree when she had jumped to help Ichigo.

Uryu watched her back in confusion as she left.

"I wonder what she plans on doing, I know she won't go home and she won't return to her friends. Poor thing has no where to go," Kisuke said from beside Uryu.

"I suppose you're trying to tell me to go after her," he asked.

"Of course not, why would I tell you to go after a sad, lonely, depressed, homeless-"

"I get it," Uryu replied. "I'm going."

"Bye," Kisuke sang as Uryu walked off.

"Sayomi," Uryu called quietly as he walked up beside the white haired girl.

She appeared not to have heard him as she continued walking in silence, her head bowed and her sword clutched in her right hand.

"Sayomi," he called again.

"Hmm," she hummed as she looked up at him, her eyes were unfocused and glazed over.

"Come on," he sighed, as he grabbed the girl by her elbow and turned her to their right.

Sayomi allowed him to lead her away, she didn't really see anything as they walked only blurry images of trees and buildings.

Uryu stopped suddenly and she blinked realizing that they were standing in front of a plain white door.

She watched as Uryu reached into his pocket for something that he then used to unlock the door and push it open. He walked in and she followed after him numbly. She stopped when she had entered what was a neat and clean small living room. To her right there seemed to be a door that lead to a kitchen and to her left was a couch, a wooden coffee table, and a stand with a small television on it.

"Let me get you a towel," Uryu said as she stood there glancing at her surroundings but not really seeing anything.

Uryu disappeared through a door that was on the opposite side of the room from the kitchen and reemerged a moment later with a towel in his hands which he handed to Sayomi.

Sayomi stared at the towel for a moment before she raised her right hand and stared at the sword that was still clutched in her hand. There was a flurry of cool air as the sword in her hand seemed to disintegrate in a shower of silver and blue, the silver and blue circled her wrist, reforming the silver and blue bracelet that she always wore.

Uryu remained silent after the display and just continued to hold the towel out to her. When she finally took the towel in her hands, he pointed to the door he had walked through to get the towel.

"The bathroom is just inside there to the right," he told her.

She nodded and slowly made her way to where he had instructed her. When she reached the bathroom, she looked into the small mirror that was over the sink. Her eyes were unfocused, and her skin had paled more than was normal. Water dripped from her wet hair and her clothes were fairly wet from the recent rain as well. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Sayomi set the towel on the counter by the sink, and put her bag down on the floor. She took a step towards the shower and turned on the hot water, and slowly undressed and stepped into the hot stream, letting it wash away the coldness that had taken residence in her bones. After a few minutes she turned the water off and reached for the towel she had been given. After drying herself off and squeezing most of the water from her hair Sayomi opened her bag and pulled out the only dry items she could find. A pair of light colored jeans and a white tank top that had a black haired fairy dressed in bright pink sitting on the leaf of a blooming black rose.

Gathering up her wet clothes and her bag, Sayomi exited the bathroom. Uryu was sitting on his blue couch, a pot of hot tea before him on the coffee table and two cups set on either side of the pot.

"Sorry I hope you don't mind that I showered, I wasn't really thinking about it," Sayomi said to Uryu, her voice was quite and there was no emotion in it what so ever.

"Don't worry about it," he replied.

"I should go, I don't want to be a burden," she said as she made to walk towards the door.

"And where do you plan on going," Uryu asked.

Sayomi froze, he had a point. She wouldn't go home, she knew that it was likely Kensei or someone else was already there waiting for her. She also had no intention of going back to the warehouse to face Shinji, she was afraid she might kill him if she saw him then.

"That's what I thought. Now sit down and have some tea," Uryu said as if he were talking to a small child.

Sighing, Sayomi turned around walked to the couch she set her bag to the side and sat down on the opposite end from Uryu.

They sat in silence as they sipped at the warm green tea that Uryu had prepared. Sayomi suddenly felt drained and extremely tired. She set the small cup down on the coffee table and sighed. Leaning her head back on Uryu's couch she rubbed absently at her eyes. Before she even realized it she had fallen asleep.

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