XxXx Thanks to SomeRandomFemale, InnerFan and Yukira-Kuchiki for adding this story to their favorite/follow list. Thanks to Guest and Fallen heavens for giving reviews to this story. All of these are very much appreciated. Enjoy the new chapter and as always please review. XxXx
Chapter 7
The rest of the week was fairly awkward between Shūhei and I. I always felt like he wanted to say something; but he never did. Captain Tōsen noticed the tension automatically and kept me from doing paperwork at the same time as Shūhei. Today while he was in the office, I was going to be practicing kido with Izuru. Yeah, that was an order from the Captain to; but it gave me a chance to ask questions about Renji's new guard duty job.
"So how high in the Bakudō set of kido spells can you go?" Izuru asked.
"Number 30" I replied lowering my head.
Bakudō spells were the hardest for me to grasp. In the academy they only taught up to a certain number and it wasn't very high. Izuru reached up and lifted my chin up with a fingertip. His eyes shimmered with pure energy and it was an amazing sight. "Don't worry about that, you'll learn. Captain Tōsen wanted me to train you for a while and that's exactly what I'm going to do". I tried to smile; but my mind kept going back to Shūhei. The look on his face when the Captain gave me my new daily routine was etched into my head. He looked so betrayed.
"How high in the Hadō class can you go?"
"Number 33"
My guess was he was figuring out that I wasn't anything special; but all he did was smile at me. The wind started to pick up and hair blew into my face. "Okay, let's begin with Bakudō 37, Tsuriboshi. It's like a safety net" he said turning around to face the training grounds. I concentrated on seeing what the net looked like; but nothing came to mind.
"Lieutenant Kira" I said softly.
"Reina, please call me Izuru"
"Oh okay"
"Now what was your question?"
"Could you demonstrate it for me? I tend to grasp better if I'm shown"
He smiled, "Of course" he replied. Turning to face the training grounds, he held out his hand. "Bakudō 37, Tsuriboshi" he called. A ball of blue energy extended out six extensions, attaching themselves to the walls of the grounds. The center was like an elastic cushion. My eyes blinked in amazement. Was I really going to learn something like this?
"Okay, your turn"
I closed my eye and envisioned the same thing I saw. Energy formed in my palm, blue on color. "Bakudō 37, Tsuriboshi" I called and released the energy from my palm. The net scattered out and attached itself to the grounds above Izuru's. I couldn't believe that I had just successfully used the technique.
"Amazing Reina" Izuru praised.
"Thank you"
'Now let's try a new one"
"Okay"
Shūhei's POV
I was going crazy in the office by myself. I was accustomed to Reina being here and now she wasn't. The room was just too quiet. Not realizing that I was gripping my pen so hard, it snapped in half, ink oozing out onto the desk. "Oh hell" I muttered and hurried to take everything off my desk.
This day wasn't going the way I wanted at all. I started to clean the ink up and decided that fresh air would be the best thing at this point. The air was extremely warm and the sun was annoyingly bright. I froze, sensing Reina's spiritual pressure. She was in the training grounds with Izuru.
Without a second thought, I rushed in that direction. Masking my spiritual pressure so as not to be sensed by either one, I knelt down on the ledge of the cliff looking down onto the grounds. Reina had just performed Bakudō 37 correctly and her smile was stunning. Izuru praised her; but that didn't surprise me. He was becoming more obvious about liking her more than a friend basis. "Okay let's try a new one" he said.
"Okay" she replied.
"Let's try one of my favorite Hadō spells"
"What would that be?"
"Tenran"
She seemed so enthralled by his training and I was starting to feel like I wasn't doing my job. Izuru unsheathed his zanpakuto. He held it in front of him then let it go. The blade levitated in front of his abdomen. Reina mimicked the same sequence of things, both blades spun around like a fan.
Her eyes watched him closely as he grabbed the hilt of his weapon, "Hadō 58, Tenran" he called and a tornado-like blast of energy was emitted from the blade. "Shit" I cursed and scrambled out of the way. Looking down, I watched Reina grab her weapon, "Hadō 58, Tenran" she called and the same energy was released from her blade.
She caught on so fast. I was worried they'd see her talent and promote her into a different squad. I knew Squad Three had an open third seat position. Maybe that was Izuru's objective here. "Oh my god, I can't believe I did that" she said in the happiest tone of voice I've ever heard her speak in.
"It won't be long and you'll be able to do ones in the 70s" Izuru replied.
"You think?"
"I know so"
"Thanks; but you're an awesome teacher"
Pink settled on his cheeks and I had to turn away. It felt wrong to be spying on her training with him, even though I was supposed to be the one training her. "Izuru" she said softly and I just had to look at her once more. A worried expression was caked on her beautiful face.
"Yes"
"You're close with Lieutenant Hisagi, right?"
"Yes"
Why would she be talking about me to him? It didn't make sense. If she had a question, she knew that she could just ask me outright.
"Is he angry with me?" she asked.
My heart sunk. How could she even think that? Her eyes were beginning to get watery. "Don't cry, please don't cry" I thought. Izuru took a step closer to her. "Why would you think that?" he asked.
"After the other night at the bar, things have been awkward between us. He's barely said two words to me since then" she answered.
My eyes went wide. I hadn't realized that's how I acted; but hearing it from her, I knew that I did. Izuru touched her shoulder and it was becoming hard to stay hidden, so I flash-stepped back to the office.
Reina's POV
When Izuru touched my shoulder, his expression changed. Sympathy was the only emotion I could read. "Maybe I should tell you this so you're prepared" he said. I was confused. Was there something about Shūhei I didn't know?
"Captains and Lieutenants have been extra busy lately. It's because Rukia Kuchiki had been brought back from the World of the Living. She is to be executed at the end of the month. There is a lot more paperwork and preparations. Don't worry so much about it, he's probably been busy" he explained.
"Is that why Renji hasn't been around?"
"Yes, he's been guarding her cell"
I smiled at him, "Thank you for telling me" I told him. Izuru removed his hand and stepped away. "I have to get back to my squad. I'll see you tomorrow" he said and waved goodbye. Standing in the pit alone, I dropped to knees. My spiritual energy was weakened. "Damnit, I need to get stronger" I said standing back up.
"Reina" Captain Tōsen's voice called.
"Yes, sir"
"Come back to the office and finish up your paperwork before you go home"
"Yes, Captain"
The walk back to the office gave me time to prepare myself for seeing Shūhei. When I got to the office, the Captain was walking out for the night or going to a meeting; I didn't know which. He held the door open for me and it closed behind me, alerting Shūhei from his work.
"Hello Reina" he said.
"Hello"
"How was your training with Izuru?"
"It went well. I learned two new kido spells"
He stood up with a small stack of papers. Handing them to me, our hands touched briefly. I hated this awkwardness. I wanted things to go back to how they were. Hearing a clap of thunder in the distance made me cringe. "Oh no" I mumbled.
Shūhei's POV
I looked at her, "What's wrong?" I asked. She instantly walked to the window. Dark rain clouds were moving in fast. Her body started to tremble, like she was afraid. Walking closer to her, she turned to face me; fear was written all over her face.
"What's wrong?" I asked again.
"It's going to rain" she replied.
"I thought that was a good thing for you"
"It rejuvenates me, yes; but it comes at a price and today I don't want to pay it"
I was completely confused now. What price did she have to pay to be healed when it rained? "What are you talking about?" I asked desperately wanting to pull her into my arms to keep her from trembling. She let out a sigh, when the rain began to fall. Her spiritual pressure was still pretty weak; but it was growing stronger by the minute.
"When it rains, I can feel every person's emotions that come in contact with me. Please don't say it's a blessing, because it's not. Feelings and emotions are private and should be kept as such" she answered.
I couldn't believe what she was telling me. The night outside the bar, could she feel everything I felt? Why didn't she say anything? My heart started to race and her eyes shimmered with energy. She took a few steps closer to me and placed her hand over my heart. The gesture was beyond heartwarming.
"Your heart is racing, Shūhei. I can feel it humming throughout my body"
"Reina…"
She moved her hand away and blinked back tears. I didn't know how to respond. If she felt everything, then why didn't she say anything about it?
Reina's POV
I sat down at my desk with the stack of papers that needed to be done. Trying to block out all of Shuhei's emotions, I worked as fast as I could so I could go home. The thunder claps were getting closer and the rain was coming down harder. The sound of it pounding on the roof was soothing, until the power went off.
The room was completely dark and I couldn't see my own hand in front of my face. "Hadō 31, Shakkahō" I said using the flame as a light. Shūhei made his way over to my desk. "Let's go, there isn't anything else we can do without power" he said.
"Okay"
I followed him outside. The rain started to soak my uniform and my energy was gradually restoring itself. He stopped walking and I noticed we were at his place. "Do you want me to walk you home or do you want to come in until the rain stops?" he asked.
"You don't mind me being her if I just stayed here?"
"No, I don't mind"
"Okay"
He opened the door and I stood in the doorway. I didn't want to drip water over the floor. "What are you doing? I thought you were coming in" he asked. I bit my bottom lip and stepped inside, water dripping off my uniform and my hair onto the floor. He walked down the hall and came back moments later with a towel in hand.
"Here" he said handing it to me.
"Thanks" I replied.
The towel was soft and smelled like him. Drying off as best I could, I walked into the living room. "Do you want a drink?" he asked. I scanned the room closely. "Yeah sure" I replied and then I saw a guitar in the corner. I wondered if he played or if it was just a collector's item. The thought of him playing made my voice itch to be used in song.
He came back into the room with two glasses. The scent of alcohol was unmistakable. It was sake. I took the glass he handed me. "Do you play?" I asked pointing to the guitar across the room. He turned to see what I was pointing at. "Yeah, it's a passion of mine along with writing" he replied.
"Those are good things to have a passion about"
He sat down next to me, taking a sip out of his glass. "What about you? What are you passionate about?" he asked. It was a good question; but did I really want to tell him. "Why wouldn't you tell him?" Ekō Suiiki asked. She always butted in on my mental conversations with myself. "He may ask me to demonstrate" I answered her. Her laugh was clear as day in my head.
"I love ready, writing and music. Let's just say music is in my blood" I replied.
He was so close to me and I was just thankful the rain had stopped for the moment, blocking me from sensing his emotions. Of course, the sake was helping with that as well.
Shūhei's POV
She finished her drink rather quickly. Was she nervous? God, she was just so damn beautiful. Could she still feel my emotions? Did she know that I want to kiss her right now? "Do you want another drink?" I asked. Reina turned towards me with a smile.
"If you're offering, yes I would"
I took her cup and walked into the kitchen to pour more sake into it. I stopped dead when I felt her behind me. "Shūhei" she said and I almost dripped the glass from my hand. "Yeah" I replied turning to face her. She took her glass back.
"Ever since I told you about my ability to feel emotions when it rains, you've been acting differently. Are you afraid of what I can feel from you?" she asked.
I looked her dead in the eyes, "No" I replied walking out into the living room. She was tempting me to no end and I was starting to have second thoughts about asking her to come inside. It wasn't long before she came out after me. She grabbed my arm to prevent me from sitting down. I shifted my body around and cupped my hand behind her head, pulling her face up to mine. Up close her eyes reflected an image of myself and she blinked several times, anticipating what I was about to do. She was so nervous her body was shaking.
I leaned in the rest of the way, finally capturing her lips with mine. My fingers tangled in her hair, holding her close. Her lips felt amazing and I could tell this was her first kiss by the way she hesitantly moved hers across mine. When I pulled away, I let her out of my arms. She opened her eyes and gave me a stunned look.
"I'm sorry" she whispered.
"Why are you apologizing?"
"That was probably he worst kiss you've ever experienced"
I pulled her back into my arms and shifted our weight so we were sitting on the futon. "That wasn't the worst kiss, Reina" I assured. Believe me it wasn't the worst by far. I've had my fair share of bad kisses in my one hundred plus years. Her head leaned against my shoulder. It felt like she belonged there against me. "It's getting late, I should go home" she said. She stood up; but then collapsed back down, leaning in. She hesitated and I smiled as her lips were just inches away from mine.
"You can kiss me, Reina"
"I don't want it to be bad"
"Stop it; it wasn't bad the first time"
She pressed her lips against mine. She was addicting and I really didn't want her to leave; but I knew that she wouldn't stay even if I asked. This was all knew to her and I had to take it slow with her. I didn't want to scare her. When her lips parted from me, I was disappointed. "Goodnight Shūhei" she whispered. I walked her to the door.
"Goodnight Reina" I replied.
She stepped outside and smiled at me before walking away. I licked my lips, tasting her lip gloss. Reina was my weakness. The thought of her being promoted to a different squad was painful. I lay down, staring at the flickering light from the candle next to me on the ceiling. Her face was the last thing I thought about before my eyes closed into slumber.
XxXx I had to do some research for this chapter to get the kido accurate. Yes, Shūhei does play guitar; so I decided to put that in here. I hope you all enjoyed, please review with your thoughts and comments. XxXx