As Rukia vaguely nodded in acknowledgement of Orihime's introduction, she wondered exactly how she should broach the subject of just how Orihime knew her name. Orihime took care of that.

"You look perplexed. Is something the matter?"

"Um," Rukia answered slowly, "when you and your friend were over there, I really wasn't trying to be rude, but I heard you use my name and…"

"I see," said Orihime with a small smile, "and you're wondering how I could possibly know your name when we've only just met."

When Rukia nodded in assent, Orihime explained, "The answer to that would be that Captain Kurosaki told me about you. He didn't tell me much more than your name and that he had hired you to do a job."

Standing up and walking around to add some more wood to the fire, Orihime said, "So, if you don't mind, I'd like to get to know you a little better," she gave Rukia a bigger and warmer smile as she said, "I haven't really had a good, long conversation with anyone in a long time."

Finding herself smiling back, Rukia asked, "Well, what do you want to talk about?"

Sitting back down on the log, Orihime said, "Whatever you would like."

Rukia rubbed the back of her neck and looked into the fire as if it were a lifeline that contained answers to the entire universe. It was one thing to talk and converse with men who lived rough and on the run, mostly because they didn't talk. When they needed to say or ask something they did, no wasted words involved. The person next to Rukia right now was a woman, but not just a woman, a lady. A real, bona fide lady. Someone who had been raised to be graceful, poised and polite no matter what they did. Someone who was taught the proper way to talk with people in different social or political circles. And this lady wanted to talk with Rukia?! What would she say? How should she say it? What would happen if she said the wrong thing and offended the lady?

Seeming to sense Rukia's distress, Orihime reached out to lay a hand over Rukia's and squeeze lightly as she said, "I didn't mean to put any undue pressure upon you. If you would prefer just to enjoy the firelight and night's peace, that is acceptable as well."

Rukia was about to extract her hand in order to wave them in front of her, but instead shook her head vigorously and said, "No, no! It's not that! I just…I just…"

"Aren't used to conversing with someone like me?" Orihime asked kindly. Before Rukia realized what she was doing, she felt her head slowly nodding in answer.

Orihime was silent for a time and simply studied Rukia. Usually, one might feel rather uncomfortable when another person gives them a rather scrutinizing look, but since Rukia was also returning Orihime's gaze and trying to figure out a bit more about her, it wasn't so bad.

Besides what Rukia had already noticed about Orihime's startling beauty, Rukia thought that Orihime was probably about ten years older than herself, which would make her about twenty-five years old. To Rukia's observant and learned eye, Orihime's clothes were well worn and showed definite signs of fading from frequent washing, yet they were of good quality so had held up well over time.

Looking past the woman's physical appearance, Rukia was thoroughly entranced by Orihime's expressive face. Over the years, Rukia had become very good at reading people and determining if they could be marginally trusted or should be avoided altogether. Life was tough enough on the streets on your own without adding other people's troubles, vices or motivations into the mix. However, just like she had discovered with Ichigo and Chad, as Rukia looked into Orihime's deep gray eyes, the girl knew for a fact that Orihime could be trusted to keep a secret.

"Probably because she has plenty of her own."

As soon as the thought crossed Rukia's mind, she immediately shoved it away and scolded herself for being silly. Of course the woman probably had secrets, what person didn't? However, as soon as Rukia considered that, she allowed her thoughts to dwell there for a few moments. Yes, Rukia was sure that if Orihime promised to keep someone else's secret, she would take it with her to her grave. Also, Rukia was sure that this woman had secrets of her own, but…there was something… Rukia remembered the deep sense of sadness she felt when she first looked into Orihime's eyes and a vague idea occurred to her. By nature, Orihime was an open and honest person and she did not like having to be careful about what she revealed to others when it came to talking about herself, which was probably why she had invited Rukia to begin the conversation. Orihime wanted to keep the conversation away from certain topics so that she wasn't faced with having to mislead or flat out lie to Rukia.

Turning around, Orihime addressed Uryu asking, "Would you be so kind as to bring me my satchel?"

Inclining his head, Uryu left without a word, which rather surprised Rukia. While he seemed like the type to follow orders most of the time, he also seemed the type who was loathe to leave the person he was looking after alone with a strange girl.

"Well," Orihime said as she looked back at Rukia, "I just had an idea for how we could get more comfortable around one another, but only if you are in agreement."

While she thought that she probably knew the answer already, Rukia asked anyway, "You mean besides sitting and chatting?"

Letting out a soft laugh, Orihime replied, "We can do that, most certainly. However, I was thinking more along the lines of doing something together that you really can't do with the menfolk."

Completely intrigued, Rukia found herself staring at Uryu avidly as he reappeared carrying a satchel. As he passed it over into Orihime's hands, Rukia's gaze was riveted on the woman's hands as they undid the fastenings and reached inside.

As she rummaged around inside, Orihime explained, "You won't be at all surprised to hear that I was once a lady from a rather influential family," a slight shadow passed over her face as she said, "Unfortunately, I can't share with you exactly which one at the moment."

"That's all right," Rukia said automatically while still looking intently at the satchel.

Giving Rukia another smile, Orihime went on, "It also won't come as a shock when I tell you that just like Captain Kurosaki and the others, Uryu, my friend Tatsuki and I are also on the run," Orihime was just about to say something when she checked herself and said instead, "And as a result, I had to leave most of my possessions behind."

Finally finding what she had been looking for, Orihime pulled a brush from the satchel and said, "However, one of the first things I made absolutely sure to bring along was this," she ran a finger along the back of the brush almost lovingly as she said, "I can live just fine without fancy gowns, elaborate hairstyles, sparkling jewelry and expensive cosmetics, but the one thing I couldn't leave behind was this brush."

Holding it out for Rukia to take and inspect, Orihime said, "Even after a hard and grueling day of travel or just a long, grueling day in general, there's nothing like the feeling of a brush going through your hair to help you feel relaxed."

"Really?" Rukia asked in wonder, "Brushing your hair does that?"

"Want me to show you?"

Rukia immediately nodded her head. She had only ever run her fingers through her hair, wetted it down with water or in extreme circumstances had used a handful of straw or even a horse's brush.

"All right then," replied Orihime, "You're going to have to sit in front of me."

Doing as she was bidden, Rukia sat down in front of Orihime and waited. A tingling in her scalp alerted Rukia to the fact that Orihime was about to start and for just a moment, Rukia considered bolting. People who usually tried to touch her either wanted to hurt her, coerce her or exert their will over her, but Orihime wasn't trying to do that and so Rukia mentally forced herself to relax. A moment later, Orihime's hand made contact with the top of Rukia's head.

About a minute or so after Orihime started brushing, Rukia was rather surprised to realize that she was relaxing almost exactly like she had done with Chad on the horse. Rukia was positive that her hair was probably in a dreadful state with tangles and forest debris galore, but Orihime never made mention of it and Rukia didn't feel the least bit of pain from the brush's pulling. Orihime's free hand alternated between holding chunks of hair so that she could gently brush out the tangles and skillfully massaging Rukia's scalp. While eating the seasoned meat was still her favorite, Rukia thought that she could definitely get used to this new perk.

"Your hair is such a lovely color," Orihime said softly as she continued to brush, "It would only need a little care to make it soft and shiny as a raven's wing."

Before Rukia could stop herself, she blurted out, "Never had a need to look after my hair before what with living on the streets and not wanting to be noticed."

"I understand," replied Orihime kindly, "And one can't afford to be finicky about one's appearance out here in the wild."

Again, as if sensing what Rukia was about to say, Orihime went on, "It's all right if you are content to let me sit and brush your pretty hair. However, it would be my pleasure to teach you a thing or two about haircare and such if you want."

Patting Rukia's shoulder, Orihime said, "Now, if you wouldn't mind turning around and sitting up on your knees for me."

Doing as she was told, Rukia faced Orihime while she put the brush away and then pulled out a small, plain wooden canister from the satchel. Taking off the lid, Orihime daintily dipped two of her fingers inside and then reached for Rukia's hands. For the next minute or so, Orihime thoroughly massaged the ointment into Rukia's hands and wrists. It felt delightful. Then, Orihime took out a cloth, poured a small amount of water from her drinking horn onto it and then carefully yet methodically washed Rukia's face. Not once did it ever cross Rukia's mind to pull away or tell her to stop.

When she was finished, Orihime sat back with an even wider smile than before and said, "There. All done," and then pulled out a hand mirror and handed it to Rukia.

Never really having seen her reflection before, unless one counted looking at oneself on a water surface, Rukia was not really prepared for what she saw. The mirror showed her the skinny face of a girl with pale skin that looked even more so because of the pitch black of her hair and brilliant and yet deep color of her eyes. The dark hair was smooth on top of the head and yet ended rather abruptly just near the chin and curled slightly at the ends in uneven pieces. Then, right between the wide, violet eyes was a patch of hair that refused to do anything else other than flop about and tickle the little, pert nose. While no comparison to the beauty sitting beside her, Rukia considered herself to be pretty enough at the moment. Certainly a sight better than she probably had been half an hour previously.

Grinning over at Orihime, Rukia said in a partial state of shock, "I look all right."

Letting out a soft laugh, Orihime replied, "More than that, you are quite fetching and pretty."

Not knowing how to respond to that, Rukia just sat there as Orihime went on, "You are like a petite fairy with your tiny hands and sparkling eyes. Your hair is thick and straight, yet can be nicely arranged, I think, if you grew it out a bit."

Trying not to blush, Rukia asked, "You really think so?" and Orihime merely smiled in response.

Just then, Rukia saw Uryu reach out and lay a hand on Orihime's shoulder. The touch must have been a signal of some kind for Orihime took hold of Rukia's hands and squeezed, not comforting or massaging, but urgent and warning. Of what she was being warned, Rukia guessed that it was likely attackers like Captain Kurosaki had mentioned that morning.

Without moving her head, Rukia looked at the three men's sleeping figures on the other side of the fire. Wouldn't now be a good time for them to rouse themselves so as to keep their promise to protect her? And yet, they slept on.

Rukia had no more time to think on the subject as the next instant Orihime threw herself over Rukia and pushed them both flat on the ground. As her eyes opened wide in shock, Rukia was barely able to make out a missile that flew over her head and she knew instantly that it absolutely would have hit her had not Orihime acted so quickly. A moment after she hit the ground, Rukia heard what she imagined was Uryu loosing an arrow of his own before jogging a few steps forward to take a defensive position over the two females sprawled on the ground.

While she tried to remain as still as possible, Rukia's hearing was slightly disrupted by the dry leaves crackling near her ears at the slightest movement. However, she did manage to pick up the snapping of a twig a little to her right. Apparently, Uryu heard the sound as well since he let fly another arrow in that direction. This time, the arrow seemed to have found its mark as a quick yelp of pain emanated from that direction. Rather than running and inspecting his felled enemy, Uryu erred on the side of caution and remained vigilantly standing where he was as he automatically set another arrow on his string.

About thirty seconds passed in complete silence before Rukia heard the sound of an owl hooting not far outside the ring of firelight. She wouldn't have given it any thought under normal circumstances, but at the sound, Rukia noticed that Orihime seemed to relax slightly and her expression became rather relieved.

However, the three of them remained motionless for a minute or two longer before Rukia heard a clipped tone call from the darkness, "All clear!" and Uryu immediately put his arrow and bow away so that he could turn to help Orihime and then Rukia to their feet.

As Orihime and Rukia brushed themselves off, Uryu asked, "Are you hurt, my lady?"

"No, no," Orihime answered automatically before asking Rukia, "And you? I hope you will forgive me for pushing you to the ground like that."

Giving the older woman an incredulous look, Rukia said, "You saved my life. If you hadn't knocked me over, that arrow would have gutted me."

"Well, maybe not gutted," replied the clipped voice from earlier, "but it would have at least clipped your wings."

Turning around, Rukia saw a woman around Orihime's age stride into the firelight. The only reason Rukia was able to tell that the person was a woman was based on the feminine shape of her face and eyes. Rukia was sure that under the masculine clothes similar to the ones she herself was wearing the woman's physique would also contribute to identifying her sex, but the clothes certainly did a good job of masking it. Her hair was a bit longer than her shoulders, but was tied behind her neck for practicality's sake. It seemed to have been cut in a way that Rukia herself had done: by taking something tolerably sharp and chopping away.

"About time, Tatsuki," said Uryu in a slightly testy voice.

Tatsuki's brown eyes flashed as she retorted, "And what do you think would have been different if I had made it back to camp sooner, huh? Both of us would have been pinned down with no way of knowing how many were out there or where they were."

"I do concede your point," replied Uryu, "I just also speak to the fact that we don't know if anything's happened to you when you take that long to return."

While Tatsuki initially opened her mouth to make another comment, she quickly closed it and nodded once in understanding before jerking her head in Rukia's direction and saying, "I thought the girl was supposed to be asleep with the others."

Placing a hand on Rukia's shoulder, Orihime said calmly, "She woke up and her name is Rukia, Tatsuki."

Giving Orihime a half grin, Tatsuki quirked an eyebrow and said, "That attached already, are we?"

Shaking her head with a chuckle, Tatsuki stuck out her hand to Rukia and said, "The name's Tatsuki. Tatsuki Yasutora."

As she reached out to accept the proffered hand, Rukia couldn't help thinking the name sounded rather familiar as she replied, "And I'm Rukia. Don't have a last name."

Further conversation was halted when they heard a wolf howl. It was not far away. Ten seconds later, yells, screams and running feet could be heard making their way towards the camp. As those sounds drew closer, Rukia could also hear the snarls and growls of wild animals attacking.

Once again, Rukia was forced into action when Orihime grabbed her hand and say quickly, "Come with me," before turning and pulling Rukia towards where the horses were tied.

Seeing a flash of movement, Rukia only had enough time to cry out, "Left!" before a large figure burst out of the tree line and rushed at Orihime and Rukia with a long blade held ready to strike. Next instant, an arrow protruded from his neck and stumbled a few more paces before dropping like a stone.

Even though the first attacker was no longer a threat, two more figures emerged from the darkness. Rukia didn't need to turn around in order to know that Tatsuki and Uryu were now completely occupied with other assailants.

Still clutching her hand, Orihime pulled Rukia forward so that she might be the girl's shield. Both men held knives and while one of them prepared to throw the other seemed to hold back a moment until the knife left his partner's hand before he rushed forward to finish them off.

Just as Rukia was about to yank Orihime backwards and charge the man throwing the knife, Rukia's blood froze as she heard a ferocious snarl. Next instant, a large, black shadow flew at the man and knocked him to the ground. The man never had time to cry out, only gurgle and flail a few times as the creature, which Rukia now realized was a wolf, sank its jaws into his throat. The dead man's companion was only frozen for a few seconds before he turned and prepared to strike the wolf.

To Rukia's utter amazement, Orihime let go of her hand in order to rush at the man, screaming out a desperate "NO!" She caught the man's knife hand in both of hers and did an amazing sort of twist and hit which caused the man to drop the knife with a cry of pain. He recovered quickly enough and backhanded Orihime across the face with his free hand and she gave her own cry of pain as she fell.

Faster than Rukia could process what she had just witnessed and what she should do now, the wolf once again seemed to fly through the air at the attacker. And once again, the wolf's powerful jaws latched onto the man's throat. Only this time, the attacker was ready and raised his knife high over the wolf's unprotected back. From the bushes, another even larger creature charged forward and bit down hard on the man's wrist. The knife fell and while Rukia was sure the man would probably have screamed if he was able, all that happened was that he gave a powerful gurgle and convulsion before going still.

Coming to her senses, Rukia realized that with both men dead, the next likely target would be Orihime. As she was about to spring forward to try to drag Orihime away from the wolf and the other creature, Rukia still couldn't identify what it was, she was struck by three hard, precise blows. Next instant, Rukia realized that she was completely paralyzed and could do nothing as she fell boneless to the ground. Another growl and rustling from the bushes was all the warning given before another bundle of fur flew through the air and made contact with Rukia's attacker.

Cracking her head against something hard, Rukia's last vision before complete blackness was of the wolf and other enormous animal turning in her direction.

As Rukia emerged from unconsciousness, she knew that something was wrong. Grogginess and a pounding skull, however, kept her from remembering what it was for the moment.

Letting out an anguished moan, Rukia vaguely heard the low, soothing voice of Chad say, "Easy now. Rest easy and the pain will go away in time."

She felt something damp being lifted from her face and while it was only a few moments before it was replaced, Rukia's head throbbed painfully as the light hit her closed eyes. It was quickly pacified though by the warmth and gentle fragrance from the cloth. It lulled her off into a gentle doze and when she came to her senses again, even though her head still hurt, most of the pain was gone.

As she awoke, Rukia tried to remember why she felt so uneasy and so reached up in order to rub her temples. It was a moment or two before Rukia realized that her hand had barely moved an inch from her side. Everything felt numb and leaden, which caused Rukia to start panicking.

Two large gentle hands gripped Rukia's shoulders and she heard Chad say firmly, "It's all right, Rukia. Everything's going to be all right."

Next she heard Captain Kurosaki say, "Renji, water," after which Rukia heard what she thought were Renji's footsteps jogging a short distance away before quickly returning.

The cloth was lifted from Rukia's face and she squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light. It wasn't as bad as it could have been since Chad's large frame was overshadowing her. She saw him reach out a hand and next thing she knew, Chad carefully lifted her enough to allow her to drink easily and slowly. The water tasted especially good to her dry, parched throat. As she finished swallowing the water, Rukia's eyes had adjusted to the light so that she was able to scan her surroundings and remember what was wrong.

As Chad pulled the cup away, Rukia's voice cracked as she said, "Orihime."

Trying to force her body into action without success, Rukia felt the panic well up again as she asked, "What happened? Where is everyone?"

This time Captain Kurosaki said calmly, "It's all right, Rukia. The attackers from last night are either dead or have run back to report to their master."

Rukia tried to think of what to say as the captain went on, "It seems that the attack came in two waves. First, a couple of archers were sent to try and catch us off guard and when that failed, the rest of the attackers tried to overwhelm us with their force and greater numbers."

"Us?" Rukia croaked incredulously, "What do you mean 'us'? There was no 'us' last night what with you and your brave comrades sleeping like logs!"

Rukia began to tremble as her emotions took control and she demanded, "What's the point of making promises if you're not going to keep them, huh?! I nearly died three times last night and it wasn't any one of you who helped me! Orihime never said she would protect me, but she did! And so did Uryu and Tatsuki! Where are they? Tell me where they are right now! Tell me! Tell me!"

Then, for the first time in her life, Rukia broke down and sobbed long, loud and hard. She had shed a tear or two before, but never more than that and certainly never in front of someone else. Events from the previous night had happened too quickly for Rukia to process all the different emotions correctly: the affection and loyalty towards Orihime after all she did, the fear from being attacked and nearly killed, the confusion over the captain not keeping his promise, the despair and angst from not knowing what had happened to Orihime and the others. All these thoughts and emotions roiled within her and then were gradually expelled as she cried.

Turning her red rimmed eyes towards the captain, Rukia pleaded, "Please tell me."

For a time, the captain seemed to be at war within himself before looking over at Chad who seemed to understand and gave the captain one slow nod. He then looked over at Renji, who let out a sigh and said, "It's fine, Captain."

When the captain looked back at Rukia, he took a moment to swallow before he said simply, "Orihime and the others are fine. To the best of my knowledge, none of them were hurt last night."

"Can I see for myself?" asked Rukia.

The captain took a deep breath and then said slowly, "In a way you can in just a moment."

Before Rukia could ask why not, Ichigo turned and said, "Renji, go fetch them please."

As the boy walked away, Ichigo looked back at Rukia and said, "There's one thing I'd like to confirm with you about last night, if that's all right."

At Rukia's slow nod, he asked, "In last night's skirmish, did any wild animals appear?"

"Yes," Rukia said slowly, "A big, black wolf came out first and killed a man who was about to throw a knife. Then, after Orihime protected the wolf, another huge…something, I don't know what it was, came out and bit another man's hand. And just before I hit my head, something else jumped out of the bushes, but I couldn't see what it was. Why?"

There were sounds of footsteps approaching as the captain said, "I'll explain in a moment," before turning around and saying, "Bring them around so Rukia can see."

A few moments later, Rukia was utterly bewildered as Renji led Ichigo's horse with the hawk settled comfortably on its perch and the two pack horses into view.

"What…" Rukia began vaguely before Ichigo cut in and said, "I want you to take a good look at them. Please."

Baffled, Rukia nevertheless did as she was bidden.

Ichigo's horse, Mugetsu, was noticeably taller and broader than the other two horses. Also, while Mugetsu was pitch black from nose to tail, the other two horses were a kind of cream color with black manes. One of the pack horses had a kind of shaggy, bristly mane with deep brown eyes while the other had a silky mane with…

"What…how…" Rukia asked as she noticed something and a vague, preposterous idea occurred to her and she said, "That's not possible."

"Unfortunately," Ichigo said, "yes it is. Tatsuki is the horse on the left while Uryu is the other on the right. The one with blue eyes."

"But then," asked Rukia in a small voice, "where is Orihime? She can't be Mugetsu, can she?"

As if in answer to her question, the hawk decided to swoop down and land on Ichigo's gloved hand.

"Rukia," Ichigo said slowly as he stroked the bird's feathers, "this is Orihime Kurosaki. My wife."

Author's Note:

As promised, I will reveal my inspiration for this story now. The movie Ladyhawke from the 80's gave me the idea and like I've said to some, it's one of those movies that either you know it or you don't. It's not one of those really popular or really horrible movies from the 80's, so unless you've seen it before you probably haven't heard of it. So, after seeing it again a bit before Tanabata, I thought that with a little tweaking to the story and amount of characters, it would make a really good Ichihime Tanabata story.

My hope is to have this story finished long before summer ends, so I need to quit being lazy and procrastinating on each chapter! Get your sorry butt in gear, Jylener!

Anyway, what really helps with that is all the support that I've gotten from all of you! That really means a lot!

Oh, so now that we know who Orihime, Uryu and Tatsuki are during the day, who are Ichigo and the others? Or, more accurately, what are they? ;)

So, as usual, I hope you enjoyed this part!