Chapter Six: Yuna's Secret

In the following week, Toushirou watched as Yuna became stronger and gained more skills than she'd possessed before. But although he was quite impressed and slightly proud that the young human girl's training was going so well, he couldn't help but become frustrated at the fact that in the several days that they've been in the real world, they only sensed that powerful reiatsu once and it was only for a few seconds. A week later and still no sign of it or its source. By week three, Toushirou was way over frustrated.

The only thing that seemed to calm him slightly was Yuna. He didn't know how the girl did it, but every time he saw her when he walked into the classroom every morning, the pressure in his mind seemed to lighten and even more so when he spoke with her. He soon found himself anticipating seeing her every time he woke up, but he didn't let the others know about it, especially Ichigo and Rangiku; those two would never let him down with it. When he gave report to Yammato, through the large communication screen that they'd used during their last time in the real world, he had mentioned Yuna's help in the mission and the Captain-Commander said that as long as she didn't cause any trouble, she could help just like Ichigo's friends did. Toushirou had also told him about Yuna's power and he knew that the Captain-Commander was quite impressed with what he heard, although he didn't show it.

They'd been in the real world for almost a month now and it was well into the autumn season. The once green leaves were an assortment of burnished golds, reds, yellows and browns. The air was a lot crisper and cooler, causing everyone to wear heavier jackets when they went outside. Toushirou had a feeling that they would still be here by the snow season.

"Looks like you guys will be here for Christmas," Ichigo said as they walked to class.

"Probably," Toushirou said, nodding. The two of them walked into the classroom and the first thing Toushirou did was look for Yuna. It came as quite a shock when she wasn't in the room. He saw her three friends in their usual spot talking, but there was no sign of the fiery blonde.

"She wasn't in homeroom this morning…"

Toushirou looked around at Orihime who had come up to him when she noticed who he was looking for. "What?" he asked, surprised the usual air-headed young woman noticed his slight disappointment of not seeing Yuna. Then again, Toushirou knew that there was more to Orihime than what meets the eye, which she'd shown during the Winter War.

"Yuna never showed up in homeroom this morning," Orihime repeated, talking quietly so Ichigo and the others wouldn't overhear. "The teacher said she called out today and would probably be out for a couple days."

Toushirou frowned but nodded his thanks to Orihime. He sat down at his desk and allowed himself to slip and get lost into his thoughts. He found himself throughout the entire day wondering about the girl missing from the seat behind him and was only shaken from his thoughts at the end of class when Ichigo jabbed him between the eyes with the eraser of his pencil.

"What the hell is your problem today, eh Toushirou?" the younger Shinigami asked.

"Nothing… go away…"

"You're thinking about Yuna, aren't you?"

"No I'm not…"

"Liar."

"Shut up…"

Ichigo smirked and said, "I figured as much…" Then his face became serious as he said, "I'm kind of worried as well. She's never missed class like this, and without warning. She was fine last night."

"I know," Toushirou said.

"If you want to go look for her after school, I'll take over your shift."

Toushirou blinked in surprise. "Kurosaki…"

"I don't mind, really. Just do what you have to do, and I won't say anything to Rangiku either. I know that she can be a pain. I'll just make something up if she asks."

Toushirou gave the other man a small, but grateful, smile. "Thank you…" he said. For the first time in a long while since he first met him, he found himself liking more of Ichigo Kurosaki than he'd had before.

.:x:.

Right after school, Toushirou went back to the Kurosaki residence to change out of his school clothing into regular street clothes before heading in the direction of Yuna's place, trying to remember how to get there. He'd walked Yuna home a few times, but it had been dark then, so he'd felt obligated to make sure she got home safely. Everything looked a little different in the afternoon. As he walked through town, wearing a light jacket to keep out the chilly breeze, even though he was somewhat accustomed to the cold, and a red scarf hanging loosely from his neck, he tried to remember the streets they'd turned onto and the name of the street she actually lived on.

Finally he came to the front of the long drive that Yuna always walked up to get to her house, right outside of town. He started to walk up it, leaving the sounds of the town behind as he walked into the woods. The driveway was now covered in a thick blanket of gold and red leaves, the trees' branches above him almost bare. Hands in the pockets of his jacket, Toushirou continued to trudge up the driveway. It was about a half-mile long and when he began to turn a corner, he could see a house through the branches of the trees. He turned the corner and stood outside a clearing where a large old brown house with a deck going around stood in the center. The house was shingled and probably had been painted once, but the paint had peeled away long ago. But through the windows, Toushirou could see nice white curtains hanging and the shingles on the roof looked, if not new, seemingly well kept. All in all, the whole house seemed well kept, despite its age.

Sighing, Toushirou walked up the walkway to the porch, climbed its steps, and stopped in front of the doorway. From where he stood, Toushirou could hear the sounds of children laughing and playing and he didn't recall Yuna saying that she had brothers or sisters. In fact, he didn't recall Yuna ever telling him about her family, except her mentioning that little girl, Marlene, she'd been with during the Hollow attack when she discovered what he was. He raised his hand and loudly knocked on the door, and then stepped back a little to wait. After a while, the door opened, revealing an old woman who was slightly hunched with age, possibly well into her seventies. She had long silvery gray hair tied into a braid and she wore a simple brown skirt that fell to the floor and a white shirt with a knitted gray and brown shawl over her shoulders. She gripped a cane in her wrinkled hand, but what startled Toushirou the most was the woman's eyes; they were the deepest shade of green he'd ever seen and they seemed to stare into his very soul.

"May I help you?" she asked. Her voice was surprisingly clear for her age, but it held a great deal of wisdom and long years in it.

"I'm looking for Yuna… Yuna Amaterasu?" he asked. "She lives here, right?"

"Ah, Yuna," the old woman said, smiling fondly. "Yes, she is here. Would you like to come in?"

Toushirou nodded and the old woman stepped aside to let him in. He gave his thanks with a slight bow. He then looked around the house.

He was standing in a large front room with a stairway before him that had carpeted steps and darkly polished handrails on either side. The stairs led to the second floor that was opened like a balcony before him, the opening making a square of forty-feet-by-forty-feet in the first floors ceiling with railings wrapping around the edge. To his left was an large arched doorway that led to the living room from what he could see and as he walked farther into the house, he saw that the room had a few recliners, couches and simple chairs, a coffee table at the center and a large stone fireplace that had an old but stable looking rocking chair beside it. To the right was a swinging door that he believed led to the kitchen and dining room. The entire house was well kept and decorated with small potted plants, paintings and ornaments on the walls and a chandelier-like light that hung from the ceiling of the second floor over the stairway. Behind the stairway was another doorway with sliding double doors and he could hear the sounds of children coming from beyond those doors and from upstairs.

"Your house is beautiful," he commented, looking at the old woman who stood waiting as he looked over his surroundings.

Thank you," the woman said, smiling. "It's takes a lot to keep it neat, especially with all the children, but the older ones help me a lot. There is only so much I can do in this old age." Then the old woman chuckled and said, "Forgive me, but you must be wondering who I am. I am Kaede Kimoria, but you can just call me Kaede. No formalities, please."

"Pleased to meet you, Kaede," Toushirou said. "I'm Toushirou Hitsugaya."

"Ah yes, Toushirou," Kaede said with a smile. "I figured it was you, from the description Yuna gave me of you. She speaks a great deal of you and the rest of your friends."

Toushirou blinked, slightly surprised. What does Yuna say about us? But before he could ask Kaede what Yuna had said about them, the doors behind the stairs slid open with a slight bang and five children, three boys and two girls, ranging from six to ten, ran out. One Toushirou recognized as Marlene. The children were laughing and carrying on, not even noticing the two elders by the front door, as they ran up the stairs and around the floor to somewhere above Toushirou.

"Forgive the rowdiness here," Kaede said with a smile. "The children become quite energetic when they come home from school. But come, Yuna is upstairs." Kaede began to lead Toushirou up the stairs, using one of the railings as a support. Toushirou walked beside her just in case she needed his assistance. They reached the second floor, which was an opened hallway before him lined with four doors, two on either side. Looking behind him he saw that on the other side of the opening was just a space that had a small set of stairs that he guessed led to an attic. "That leads up to the top floor, which is all opened for the children to play," Kaede said, noticing him looking. Then she led him down the hallway, walking to the first door on the left. "This is where the boys sleep," she said, "and the girls sleep in the room across the hall. We have ten boys who live here and nine girls. I sleep in the next room on this side and Yuna has the other room. These first two rooms are the largest."

"This is quite a family," Toushirou said and then he frowned, thinking of something. "Where are Yuna and the rest of the children's parents?"

Kaede blinked in surprise and looked at Toushirou. "Yuna never told you, didn't she?" she asked, her eyes suddenly overcome with sadness.

"Tell me what?"

Kaede sighed and shook her head. "It is not my place, but Yuna's, to tell you." She then opened the door and said, "Yuna is in here. She stayed home today to take care of one of the little ones." She walked in and Toushirou followed her.

The room was quite large, with twenty beds that lined the walls on either side, ten on each wall. Each bed had a large wooden chest at the foot and a bedside table between them. Overhead lights lined the ceiling above and a large window was at the far end of the room. The room consisted of blues, greens, reds and other boyish colors. At the last bed on the right laid a tiny boy with no hair and pale skin, his eyes closed as he slept. Sitting on the edge of the bed, her blonde hair pulled into a loose ponytail, was Yuna.

The young woman looked up at their entrance and her eyes widened at the sight of Toushirou. "Toushirou?" she exclaimed, a bit surprised and, which shocked him, slight fear. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you were alright," he replied, shrugging. "You didn't show up for school today so we were worried."

Yuna smiled sadly and said, "I figured you would be, and I'm sorry, but I needed to stay with Zack." She gestured to the boy lying in the bed who began to have a coughing fit in his sleep.

"I will leave you two," Kaede said, turning back towards the door. "I'm going to start dinner. Will you be staying Toushirou?"

"I'm not sure yet," he replied.

"Well, I'll make a little extra, just in case," Kaede said with a kind smile and then she walked out, closing the door softly behind her. Toushirou realized that the walls were sound resistant so he couldn't hear the sounds of the other children playing in the house.

He took a seat on the bed next to the one the boy slept in as Yuna returned to her seat. The boy's coughing had ceased and now he laid there, his breathing uneven. "What's wrong with him?" Toushirou asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

"He has leukemia… cancer," Yuna replied, taking Zack's hand in hers. It looked so small and thin compared to her strong one.

"I'm sorry," Toushirou said, unsure what to say.

"He had it since he was six," Yuna said, looking over at him. "He's now fifteen, although he doesn't look it. He went into remission when he was seven, but it came back a year ago and he's been going downhill ever since."

Toushirou looked at the boy, saddened that Yuna had to suffer watching a family member die. He then remembered his and Kaede's conversation outside the room and he looked back at Yuna. "Yuna," he said, "where are your parents? All these children's parents? Are all of them your siblings?"

Yuna looked down at the hand she held and for the first time that Toushirou has known her, he saw tears swimming in her eyes. "My parents… my parents are gone, Toushirou, as are all the parents of the children here. This is an orphanage… I'm an orphan."