I really have nothing to say at the beginning of this chapter since it was written at like...4 in the morning cuz my brain wouldn't shut off.
A Day Out
Ichigo had explained to his father what had happened with Sachiel during a break in his patients. His father understood Ichigo's concerns for his wife. Ichigo had also explained about her other life, Jaxxine and Hemah. Isshin was surprised to learn that part of her former life had found a way into this dimension and had actually sought her out.
Isshin knew from the moment he met Sachiel what she was and having her for a daughter was something of a prideful thing for him. He loved that an angel was his daughter in law. When Ichigo revealed everything to him before they were married, his pride in his son swelled exponentially.
Isshin was fine with Ichigo taking half a day off with his wife. Once the clock had reached about eleven o'clock, the stream of patients had died off, leaving them with time to catch up what they hadn't been able to get to. Sachiel had finished up her lab work and gave the results to Isshin so that he could take the measures needed with his patients. Yuzu called to make new appointments for said patients or to give them the test results.
With Sachiel leaving for the day and with no more lab work that needed to be completed, Hiyori and Shinji had also decided to take the rest of the day off. Since the end of the war, during which Shinji discovered his feelings for Hiyori and she for him, they had been almost inseparable. Since Hiyori had had previous experience working in a lab, Sachiel had taken her on as an assistant. Since Shinji hung around the clinic so much, Sachiel had decided to put him to work as well, teaching him the equipment and test procedures. Both had been quick to learn and they worked well with Sachiel.
They earned enough money so that they could get a small house together and live comfortably. They no longer had to hide that they were vizards. After the war, they had won their right to live out in the open, to live their lives as they chose. A right that had nearly cost them their lives.
As Yuzu prepared lunch, Sachiel informed her that she and Ichigo were going to be going out to lunch with their daughters and her sister and wouldn't be joining them. Hiyori and Shinhi did stay however.
Coming up behind Sachiel, Ichigo wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her softly on the neck. "Are you ready, love," he asked.
She turned, kissing him softly on the lips. "Yes, mosh." she answered.
Yuzu sighed at the couple. Even after the years they had been together, they still acted as if they were a new couple. Yuzu sincerely hoped her relationship with Jinta would stay like theirs.
Taking his wife's bag, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading her out of the clinic.
Arriving at home, they pulled into the driveway but didn't put their car in the garage. Ichigo came around, opening the door for his wife. She smiled at him. "Such a gentleman today," she teased, stroking the side of his face. Ichigo blushed, making her giggle once more. Once she was out of the car, he closed the door, taking her hand. He stopped when he felt her pull back. He looked back questioningly.
"Do you remember the first time we kissed, Ichigo?" she asked, leaning against the car door.
Scratching the back of his head, he chuckled. "Yeah. We had just finished off that group of hollows. We were sitting by the river talking."
"Mm…yes. That was the night you revealed how you felt about me."
He stood in front of her, looking down into her eyes. He leaned closer to her, his hands on her hips. "It doesn't seem like it was that long ago," he said.
(flashback)
Ichigo sat against the boulders not far from the riverbank. Sachiel was at the water's edge, washing her hands and her sword. Straightening, she pulled a cloth from the back of her sword belt, using it to dry off her sword.
She walked over, taking a spot next to him on the soft moss, both of them silently watching the clear, starry night overhead. Sachiel looked at him from the corner of her eye.
"What are you thinking about," she asked.
"You," he admitted.
"Oh yeah? I'm interesting enough for you to think about?" she said with a teasing look in her eyes.
He looked at her. "You had me worried when you took on four of those hollows by yourself. Especially when you started looking like you were getting tired," he said.
She shrugged. "I did fine. Besides…you've been fighting along side me for over two months now. You should know that I don't go down that easily," she said, looking back up at the stars. She reached behind her, taking out her hair clasp and pulling her long hair loose.
He stared at her, studying her profile as she gazed skyward. Feeling his eyes on her, she looked back at him. "What?"
He blushed suddenly. Sachiel tilted her head, an eyebrow quirking up. Grinning, she rolled over onto her left knee. Ichigo looked away. Coming closer, on her hands and knees now, she looked at him curiously as he kept trying to look away from her. "Are you blushing?"
"What? No!" he denied.
Sachiel began chuckling. "You are…you're blushing Ichigo."
Looking at her, he blushed a bit more, averting his eyes. She was very close to him. He could feel the heat from her body and her gaze. Turning his head to the side, she moved closer to him.
"Tell me what you're thinking about," she whispered close to his ear. He jumped back a little.
"Why are you so close to me?"
"Because…I can be. I have you wedged between me and the rock behind you. And I want to know why you're blushing so badly. Even by moonlight, I can see it."
Looking up, he sighed. There was no getting out of it. It wasn't like he had never been around a female before but this female made him feel different. She wasn't overly pushy or rough; she wasn't needy or helpless. Looking her straight in the eye, he said quietly, "I was just…wondering…what it would be like…to kiss you." The last part came out barely audible, lower than a whisper.
"You're wondering what what would be like?"
He said a bit louder, "…to kiss you."
Sachiel sat back on her heels, a slightly confused look on her face. "You want to kiss me?"
Ichigo's nod was barely perceptible.
"Why would you want to do that?"
"Because…I like you. I like you a lot," he admitted.
She got close again on her hands and knees, grinning at him again. "You like me?" she teased.
"yes…" he answered. "You're a great fighter, a great friend. Over the past two months, being with you constantly, fighting along side you…I like you as more than a friend."
She leaned in a bit closer, her face just a few inches from his. Ichigo could feel her breath on his cheek as he looked to the side, ready for any rejection she might throw at him. However, to his surprise, she brought herself across his lap, her face just under his, her eyes looking deeply into his own. He met her gaze, letting her read any emotions she might find there.
Sachiel said in a whisper, "Then kiss me, Ichigo Kurosaki. I will accept it and return it with my own."
Ichigo's heart soared at her words. Without needing any more prompting but still blushing, he cupped her face gently in his hands and slowly lowered his mouth to hers, his eyes closing as their lips met.
Ichigo felt as if time stood still as he kissed her softly. Feeling her hands on his chest, she leaned a bit more into him, her mouth opening slightly. He felt her tongue against his lips seeking entry into his mouth. He opened his mouth slightly, his own tongue greeting hers. Her tongue was soft and sweet against his, hesitant at first before both grew a bit more bold and deepened the kiss. Her hands moved from his chest to behind his neck as he wrapped and arm around her, holding her close. He leaned over her, his other hand supporting both of them as he lowered them onto the moss.
Ichigo couldn't believe how bold he was being with her but it felt right to him. Kissing her was making his head spin wildly.
Breaking the kiss, he said breathlessly as he gazed into her eyes, "I think I'm in love with you."
Sachiel's eyes widened. "You have to be sure, Ichigo," she whispered. "You have to be sure because…I have more that I need to tell you about me before we go any further."
She spent the next few hours explaining to him who and what she truly was. Ichigo didn't understand at first what she was saying. He didn't want to understand or believe what he had heard. Two of her brothers, Gabriel and Uriel, had shown up when they felt her emotions wildly fluctuating. They had helped her explain and provided the proof that Ichigo needed to accept the situation.
After they had left, Sachiel sat next to him, her forehead resting on her knees, sighing softly, "I understand if this is something that you cannot accept. I understand even more if you should rethink or even retract your earlier statement."
He looked over at her, a smirk on his lips. "I'm glad you told me all this, Sachi. But don't think that it changes how I feel about you. If anything…" he pulled her onto his lap, cradling her close as he brushed aside her hair, his fingers trailing along her cheek. "…it makes me even more sure of how I feel about you." He kissed her again, pouring all the feeling he could muster into it. Sachiel whimpered slightly against his mouth, feeling the depth of his emotions for her.
(end flashback)
Sachiel looked deep into Ichigo's eyes. "That first kiss was the first of so many," she said. "It seemed like you couldn't stop kissing me after that."
"I still can't," Ichigo responded before kissing her softly. "That night was one of the best nights of my life."
"Oh? And what was the other one?"
He smirked. "The first night we slept together," he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her.
"Hentai!" she said in mock outrage, her fist lightly punching his arm, making Ichigo defend himself, laughing as he caught her wrist and pulled her close.
"You love me," he said.
"Yeah…lucky for you I do," she replied, leaning up for a kiss, her arms going around his neck.
"You two gonna stand out here kissing all day or are you gonna come in so we can get going," Hemah said from near the walkway.
Sachiel blushed, hiding her face against Ichigo's chest. "Yeah. We're coming in. You all ready?" he answered.
"Yup! Just waiting on you two," Hemah said over her shoulder as she walked back toward the house.
Sachiel looked up at Ichigo before both started laughing. Ichigo took her hand and led her into the house.
After collecting their daughters and Jaxxine, Ichigo and Sachiel spent a few moments explaining the car to Jaxx and Hemah. They had seen odd conveyances in Azeroth that the tinkers had built but they had never seen anything that could carry so many people at once. One was the limit for most personal vehicles in their world.
Ichigo took them first to the bank where they were able to transfer some of their gold into usable cash. The teller had looked a bit confused at first by the markings on the coins but after they were weighed and calculated against current gold prices, both women walked out of the bank with several pouches filled with currency.
After that, Ichigo took them to a restaurant overlooking the river where they enjoyed a lunch of seafood and various types of fish. In spite of only being a few years old, Rei enjoyed her lunch of battered shrimp that she kept telling everyone was french fries. Ichigo and Sachiel shared a platter of various fish, both taking turns feeding each other. Hemah rolled her eyes at them, eating her lunch quietly as did her aunt. They didn't talk much during lunch, except to plan out what they would be doing that afternoon.
"So what type of clothing do you think you'd like to get, Hemah," Sachiel asked.
"I don't know. I guess we'll have to see what the shops have for sale, minn'da," she answered. She was wearing one of Sachiel's tank tops and a pair of her jeans. She had kept her boots on as they were close fitting and hid well under the pants.
"Same. I'm so used to robes that I don't know that I could break away from skirts and such," Jaxxine added.
Sachiel nodded, Ichigo silently drinking his juice that he had ordered to go with his lunch.
Setting his glass down, he said, "The place that we're going for shopping has lots of different stores. We have plenty of time for you to look around. And judging by the amount of cash you two got from that gold exchange, you'll be able to buy whatever you like from any of them."
Both women nodded, trying to form some idea of what they would like to get. Hemah looked over at her little sister who was holding a small cup, sipping through a tube happily. She smiled at the picture her sister presented.
"She is so cute, mom," she commented. "I don't know if I should be jealous or hug her."
Looking over at Rei, Sachiel smiled. Feeling her mother's eyes on her, Rei looked back, taking the straw out of her mouth and gave her a big smile. "Yeah, she's pretty cute. But you were also a very adorable baby, Hemah," she replied. "You were just as small when you were her age. Those big green eyes of yours were the first thing anyone noticed. And with your black hair and fair skin, many admired you."
She felt Ichigo squeeze her hand slightly. She looked at him as he slouched in his chair.
"I remember when we lost her in the woods. Do you remember? We looked everywhere for her, only to find her playing at the stable with the dragon hawks," Jaxxine added.
Sachiel gasped, "Oh goodness yes! Even as a baby, you were a handful, Hemah. Always finding a way to get away from us. I felt half the time that I should put you in a cage but I figured you would escape from there too," she laughed. "That's how I knew you were going to be a rogue."
Hemah blushed as her mother and aunt continued to recount incidents from her childhood. They even got Ichigo into the conversation, which was something. By the end of what started as a quiet lunch, everyone was laughing and joking about some childhood story or another.
As they got ready to leave, Ichigo called the waiter over, asking for the ticket on the meal. Looking over her husband's shoulder, Sachiel pulled out her wallet from her purse only to have Ichigo put his hand over hers.
"And what do you think you're doing," he asked.
"Helping to pay?"
He smirked at her answer. "Yeah right," he said, kissing her softly. "I got it, babe."
"You two act like teenagers, you know that?" Hemah remarked.
"Yeah. Even with Balthor, Sachiel would never let him openly display affection to her and she would never willingly submit to him," Jaxxine added. "You must be pretty special, Ichigo. Perhaps you really are her soul mate."
Sachiel blushed, making both Jaxxine and Hemah laugh. Ichigo smiled at the two women. "I believe that she is," he said. "I have never met a more perfect woman since my mother," he said, putting an arm around her for a small hug.
Sachiel smiled at him, kissing his cheek before turning to see to Rei. Rei had already cleaned her face with her napkin. At home, Rei made a wonderful mess of her meals but in public, she was very proper and for her age, showed impeccable table manners. Handing her a mint, Rei popped it in her mouth, giving her a mother a shy smile before sucking on it.
As they left the restaurant, they walked the few blocks to the shopping center. Rei was seated on Ichigo's shoulders, her small hands under her father's chin. Sachiel walked beside him, holding his hand that wasn't holding onto Rei. Jaxxine and Hemah walked behind them, looking at the tall buildings that surrounded them.
As they entered the shopping center, the two women stopped and stared in awe at the amount of different shops. Back home, things were bought at an auction house or at a merchant's caravan. This was going to be a totally new experience for them.
Ichigo and Sachiel led them around to different clothing stores, both women perusing through the different racks. Sachiel tried to help by showing them things that she thought might interest them. Within a few hours, they had quite a few bags that they took back to the car before going back to the shopping center. They casually strolled through each shop when Sachiel pointed out a lingerie store, stating that they would need underthings to go with their clothes.
Leaving Ichigo with a dozing Rei in his arms, she kissed him on the cheek before joining her sister and daughter inside the store.
Ichigo sat on the bench near the door, relaxing as he held his daughter. Sitting back, he watched the people passing by with half closed eyes. After a moment or two, he felt a tickle at the base of his skull.
"Ichigo." he heard a voice softly call to him. It wasn't his wife's voice, yet it was familiar to him.
Opening his eyes, he looked around to see who might have called out to him.
"Ichigo." he heard again.
He groaned to himself. "Why now? I was having such a good day, too."
He looked around again, scanning the faces of the people around him. He felt a small twinge of pain in his back, making him hiss softly. Getting up from the bench, he entered the store, looking around for his wife.
He found her by a negligee rack, holding something up to herself as she and her sister laughed. Hemah was nowhere in sight.
Putting a hand on her shoulder, she jumped slightly, turning to him and blushing. "Ichigo!" she said. "You scared me."
"I can see that," he responded. "Do you sense anything?" he asked with a serious look.
Closing her eyes a moment, she opened them. "No, nothing. What's wrong?"
Jaxxine moved off to another rack, giving them their privacy.
Just as he was about to answer, a stronger spasm of pain went through him, making him double over, almost dropping Rei who screamed at being startled out of her nap. Sachiel quickly took her from him, mentally probing at him to find the cause.
"Jax! Come here, quickly please," she called to her sister. She handed Rei to her. "Watch her, we need to go take care of something."
Jaxxine nodded, holding Rei close as Sachiel took Ichigo's hand as she ran out of the store.
She ran in the direction of their car, shifting both she and Ichigo into the spirit plane. Ichigo jumped by her, in his shinigami form, his large blade strapped to his back. Sachiel was dressed in black leather pants with a silver chain mail shirt that clung closely to her body. Black, fingerless tekkou covered the back of her hands and wrists. Across her back was the sword she had shown Rukia the day before. Strands of her spirit energy in black and silver also stretched out behind her like wings, her long braid trailing.
"It's got someone, Ichigo," she called over to him.
"Yeah. I kinda figured with the pain that I got. Whoever it is, they're in trouble," he replied.
"I was sensing for undead since that's how they usually materialize. I wasn't looking for demon energy."
They came upon an empty lot after a few minutes. They were in the next city over, Kagamino. They saw the demon leaning over something, it's black leathery wings fanned out behind it. Not knowing if it had its prey in its hands, Sachiel dove downward, a ball of golden light forming in her hand. When she was close enough, she let the energy blast go, effectively knocking the demon back.
As it was knocked to the side, it let go of whatever it hand in its hand. Ichigo's heart stopped. It was Rukia.
"Keep him busy," Sachiel yelled to him, landing beside the fallen shinigami. Red energy shot from her hand, striking Rukia. It surrounded her body for an instant before fading, helping to stabilize her before Sachiel began to form more energy, silvery gold this time, between her hands. As it built to its peak, she splayed out her hands, the golden light covering Rukia for a few moments, pulsing as it began to heal her wounds.
Knowing the small woman would be alright, she ran over to where Ichigo was fighting the demon. As she ran, she noted that it was much larger than the demons they had fought so far. It also seemed to be much stronger since in his regular shinigami form, Ichigo had had a bit of difficulty deflecting its blows.
Throwing a shield around him, she summoned a hammer, the large weapon slamming into the demon a second before hitting it with another golden ball of pure energy.
"Lifeblood!" she called as she jumped into the air, spinning as she did. Ichigo could feel the warm energy start at his feet, pulsing it's way up his legs, healing him. He watched as his wife's sword came around, striking the demon hard as the sword severed its hand, burying itself in the top of his chest. Holy energy flowed out from her as she touched the ground, consecrating it. The demon screamed as he felt the holy ground punish him for stepping there.
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
Hearing her husband's voice, Sachiel stepped back, barely dodging the attack as it sped by her, slamming into the demon and throwing it back. It wasn't down. Cursing softly, she ran after it as it bounced and skidded across the field. Ichigo was close behind her.
Rukia stirred slowly, hearing the sounds of battle around her. Opening her eyes, she saw Ichigo…and his wife. Both were battling the hollow she had found. Sitting up, she found that she was completely healed, no blood to be found, no wounds anywhere. She felt her back in wonder, not feeling the sliced flesh she should have.
She saw Sachiel run after the hollow, Ichigo right behind her. Silver energy formed around her fist as she spun, hitting the hollow in the head, stunning it.
Sachiel ducked just as Ichigo's blade came down, slashing diagonally across the creature's chest. A large golden hammer slammed into the creature's chest from beside Sachiel, as she made a rapid spin, smaller hammers forming in a golden whirlwind, slamming into the creature.
It dove for her, it's clawed hand outstretched. Sachiel leaped upward and over just as Ichigo's blade made contact with the hairy appendage, slicing through it. Rukia expected him to slice through the mask on its face but he didn't. Bringing herself around in another spin, Sachiel's blade glowed as red as fire as the runes on it activated. Leaping upward, she brought the blade down on the back of the creature's neck, slicing through it. Ichigo ducked just as the blade cleared, the head rolling a short distance away.
The creature lay at their feet, not dissolving into mist as hollows should. Rather, it continued to twitch, before the skin began to bubble and ooze.
"I always did hate this part," Sachiel said, walking away. "holy fire," she whispered, silver gold flame erupting around the body, burning away any traces of what had been there.
They both walked over to Rukia who was still sitting where they left her. She watched them approach in stunned silence.
Ichigo crouched beside her while Sachiel remained standing, her head tilted as she watched her.
"You ok, Rukia?" Ichigo asked.
She looked first to Ichigo and then to his wife, nodding mutely.
"What was that," she asked quietly. "I came across it but it didn't show up on my phone. I assumed it was possibly broken and so I attacked, thinking it was just another hollow."
"Bad idea," Sachiel said. "But we got to you in time. That wasn't the normal demon variety that we usually encounter. It retained it's form rather than taking a dead body and making a zombie."
"Yeah. I noticed that too," Ichigo responded, looking over his shoulder where small wisps of smoke continued to float up on the slight breeze.
"That was…a demon?" Rukia asked.
"Yeah. Pretty scary, huh?" Sachiel smiled at her.
Her eyes still wide, Rukia nodded again. "I didn't stand a chance against it. It came at me so fast. It was like the Espada," she said.
"No, the Espada were like toddlers compared to these things," Ichigo said. "If Sachiel hadn't saved my butt one night, I would be a shinigami for real."
Rukia looked at the tall woman, who smiled back. "How did you know where to find me," she asked.
"We didn't. Ichigo got the pain first and when I scanned for undead, I found nothing," she explained, sitting in front of Rukia. "When I sent out a different probe was when I found the demon. We didn't know he had you, though. I sent a shockwave to you to heal enough to stabilize you so you didn't lose your form. You were close. I sent another wave to heal you slowly so you didn't go into shock from all the energy I set loose inside you."
"What were those hammers?" Rukia asked.
"Those? That was the energy that's released when I release one of my seals. I can use them to either heal, slow down an enemy, restore my reiatsu or I can use them to just inflict a lot of pain."
Ichigo smiled at his wife, putting a hand on her arm. She looked at him, returning his smile before frowning, seeing the large cut that ran along his collar bone to his chest. Rolling her eyes, she moved to straddle him, sitting on his legs as she pulled back his shirt, her hand already glowing as it reached his skin. He inhaled sharply, tensing as he felt the warm energy hit his wound. Sachiel looked him, "Big baby," she teased. Rukia looked on as the wound closed under her hand, not leaving a scar behind.
Ichigo smirked to Sachiel. "That's not what you called me last night," he returned, making her blush prettily for him. He reached up, cupping her face with his hand, his thumb stroking her cheek as she worked on another wound.
"Rukia, how you ever kept this man in one piece is beyond me," Sachiel said to her. Rukia blushed. "I didn't. Orihime did."
"Well either way, how he managed to stay alive…" she didn't finish. "He is the only man I know of that can go into a three second battle and come out looking like he went through a blender."
Rukia laughed behind her hand at Sachiel's accurate description of Ichigo's battle style. Sachiel continued to mumble to herself as she healed Ichigo who suddenly brought his mouth on hers, effectively silencing her. Rukia looked away, giving them their privacy for the moment.
"Ahem," she said, clearing her throat.
Both fighters looked over at her with questioning looks.
"If you're done, I think I'll go back out on patrol," Rukia said, standing up and brushing her uniform off.
Looking at Sachiel and then Ichigo, she bowed to them. "Thank you both for coming to help me. I am in your debt," she said as she turned to walk away.
Both Ichigo and Sachiel looked at her retreating form.
"That was weird," Ichigo said.
"Yeah," Sachiel agreed, moving off his lap.
"Thank you! Now my legs won't fall asleep," Ichigo teased, rubbing at his legs. Sachiel swatted him with her hand, laughing as she jumped into the air, her black and silver wings spread out behind her, flapping softly to keep her afloat. Ichigo jumped up after her, both racing back to the shopping center.
Rukia watched them go from the top of the building adjacent to the field where the fight had taken place. Ichigo looked happy when he teased with his wife. He didn't act like a man who had been trapped into his marriage. He joked with her, she teased him back.
Turning around, she yelped in surprise.
Renji was standing there watching her.
"Renji! Don't sneak up on people like that."
"What were you doing," he asked.
"N…nothing!" she said.
Renji sighed. "Alright. Don't talk to me about it then. Just remember, I'm here if you should need to."
With that, he shun'po'd away. Rukia looked up where she felt his spiritual pressure and saw him join Kira and Hisagi, all three using shun'po to disappear from her sights.
Kira was giddy with excitement. Hisagi looked at him from the corner of his eye. He couldn't remember a time when Kira had been that happy. Renji had taken them to where he felt Ichigo's reitsu and all were treated to the sight of Ichigo and his wife fighting off a creature.
Renji sighed to himself. Ichigo didn't really want all of Seireitei to know about Sachiel, being as who she was. He wanted to have a quiet life with her and up until a few days ago, that's what Ichigo had had.
Unlike before when Sou-taicho Yamamoto would send requests to Ichigo, he chose to let the 13 Court Guard squads deal as a way of learning to not depend on one person so much. And it had worked. Many shinigami had become stronger since they were more self-reliant.
Renji and the two others landed near Urahara's shop. They would have to be in a human body so that they could look around for Ichigo since his wife now that they weren't going to be in spirit form. Sachiel had a tendency of shielding them from shinigami so that they could have their privacy. Ichigo had told her many stories of how the death gods would show up unexpectedly at very inconvenient times.
Urahara was actually away with Tessai getting supplies but Jinta and Ururu let them get the gigais so that they would be able to walk about the human world. Ururu actually flirted a bit with Kira, making the emo smile a bit more. Renji smiled as he noted how Kira warmed up to the girl.
Ichigo and the girls pulled into the driveway, the garage door opening so that they could park inside.
After they got back from their hunt and got back to the girls, Rei had fallen asleep in her sister's arms while they continued to shop a bit more. Deciding everyone was hungry, they decided to go back to the house to make dinner. Four hours of shopping and a good fight did that.
After Ichigo turned off the car, he helped with the bags and packages while Sachiel took Rei up to her room for a nap. At so late in the afternoon, Rei would be up late but she didn't dare wake the little girl up. If woken from her nap, she could be a terror. So she opted to let her sleep.
Going down the stairs after settling the little girl in, Sachiel pushed herself against the wall as Ichigo, Jaxxine and Hemah made their way upstairs with the packages. She went out to the garage, to the car and grabbed more of the packages. She didn't know whose were whose so she just got what she could.
"Oy, Sachiel," she heard from behind her.
She turned, looking over her shoulder. She saw Renji with a few men beside him. She let go of the bags, turning fully and sitting on the bumper of the car. She eyed him closely, judging the men to see if they were a threat. Just because they were with Renji didn't mean it wasn't possible.
She smiled at him warmly, reaching out a hand to him. He took it, kissing the back of hand briefly. "Who have you brought with you, fuku-taicho Abarai?" she asked formally.
Sensing her nervousness, Renji straightened, turning to the two men with him. "This is Kira Izuru, fuku-taicho of the Third division," he said, gesturing to the blonde man. "And this is Hisagi Shūhei, fuku-taicho of the Ninth division,' again gesturing to the other man with black hair.
Sachiel nodded to them both as they bowed to her. Hopping off the bumper, she first went to Kira, who stood as still as stone. She reached up, her fingers pushing aside his bangs and her finger traced the same symbol on his forehead as she had with Byakuya. She frowned before looking deep into his eyes. She didn't say anything, moving to Hisagi, again tracing the symbol. Again, she frowned but didn't say anything to either men.
"Minn'da," they heard, all four turning to the source of the voice.
"Oh…hello," the owner of the voice said when she came around the SUV. She remembered the red-head. Was hard not to with all those tattoos on his face and body. The other two, she took in immediately, tilting her head a bit. When her eyes landed on the dark haired one, they widened a bit. She swallowed, feeling a strange vibration coming from him. She looked over at her mother. "Minn'da…Ann'da wanted to know what was taking you so long," she said. Sachiel felt a bit choked when she heard her daughter refer to Ichigo as papa. It meant that she accepted him.
Clearing her throat, she smiled. "Anything is fine. Something light maybe?"
"Alright."
"Hemah, as long as you're here, let me introduce you to our guests. You can tell your father that we'll be having company, yes?"
Hemah smiled at her mother. "Yes, I will."
Sachiel turned to the men again, her arm entwined in her daughter's. "Hemah, this is Kira Izuru and Hisagi Shūhei from the Seireitei I told you about yesterday," she said. "Gentlemen, this is my eldest daughter, Hemah."
Both men bowed to her as she slightly dipped her head, smiling. "Bal'a dash! Doral ana'diel?" she said.
Sachiel laughed behind her hand at the confused looks on all three men. "Hemah, a traditional sin'dorei greeting won't be understood here," she said. Hemah blushed. "Sorry, minn'da."
"It's fine. What she said was 'Greetings, how fare you?' It's a traditional greeting in our native language," Sachiel explained to the men.
Kira stepped forward, "Is…is she like you?"
"An elf? Yes. If you mean an angel, then no."
Hisagi noted the girl's finely sculpted features that closely resembled the woman's. Both women were strikingly beautiful, both with green eyes yet the younger's were a more muted green like jade. They both had a slim figure but in no way girlish. As a man, he could appreciate their delicate beauty.
Renji spoke up, "Were you going to start dinner? I didn't realize the time. I didn't want to intrude."
"It's fine, Renji," Sachiel said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Besides, I know you have something to ask me. We can discuss it over dinner." And with that, she turned her daughter back to the doorway, the men trailing behind them.
A/N: whew! That chapter took a while for me to find the proper stopping point. I know it kinda dragged a little but …meh. It had a fight scene! Yaye! I'm not as rusty on them as I thought I would be. =)
On a side note…did anyone seen episode 268? Whoa…I like the part at the intro where it said: And…Orihime has gone back to being useless. That made me chuckle.