Disclaimer: I make no moneys from this, I do not own Kubo-sama's bleach-verse or characters, my night in a cell has proved this... All I wanted was Ukitake! Wahahahahaaaaaa! :C... *ahem* I do own Ai, Saki and Yumi X3


Saki sat down on the bench, with Ukitake following suit next to her, she noticed he sat closer than would be deemed necessary, not that she minded in the slightest, but she just found it odd. Actually everything about this night was odd, Jyuushiro never sought out Saki after work hours, he would only ever really speak to her when he was ordering his food, and if there was something urgent for him to speak to her about, or he just fancied a friendly conversation then he would still just find her on her breaks, unless it was a particularly busy day like today.

Well, that is what has become of their friendship now she supposed, it was not what it used to be. Saki had met Shunsui and Jyuushiro centuries ago, when they were all so young, with no worries in the world, it was the first week of Shino academy, and Jyuushiro and Saki found they were in all of the same classes, he introduced her to Shunsui, and then not one week later Shunsui introduced Nekozowa Yumi to the group. The four of them became inseparable.

It was not long before Jyuushiro and Yumi-chan had begun dating, they fell for each other almost instantly, back then Jyuushiro was actually quite confident with girls, he was the one to ask Yumi-chan out, she was quick to say yes. It was safe to say Saki was heartbroken at this new revelation, she had fallen for the white haired boy pretty quickly, and has kept her feelings hidden ever since, Shunsui, being the observant bugger that he is, knew of Saki's feelings before even she knew herself.

They were all put into separate squads and couldn't spend much time with each other anymore, it wasn't long before Saki decided that the path of the Shinigami, and Onmitsukudo were not for her, and she became a chef. Even then the four of them would try to make time for each other, until Yumi died, well that was the catalyst for Jyuushiro's illness, as well as his and Saki's friendship drifting away.

And that was how they got to where they are today, not even bothering to find each other anymore during the little free time they had, Yumi would be disappointed if she could see them now. Saki even rarely got to see Shunsui too.

She stared into his deep emerald eyes, they felt so intense with a different emotion swirling among the depths that she had not recognised in them before.

Jyuushiro tried wording what he wanted to say to the woman sat before him in his mind, and as he held the bright azure eyes in a steady gaze, glistening in the moonlight, along with obvious anticipation of waiting for what he could possibly want to speak with her about, he saw something in them that he had been too dense to notice before now, and he wondered how he had been so completely senseless and stupid. He must have caused her so much pain, to be burdened with such an emotion and not have them reciprocated…

Jyuushiro was finally able to see what had attracted him to Saki so much that it hurt, her long golden brown hair was tied in a messy ponytail, with her bangs hanging wild and free, framing her slim face, her cheeks held a rosy tint in them, she never wore make-up and he didn't think she needed to, she had a natural beauty that had eluded him for all of these years, the moonlight only added to her mystical splendour.

He was finally going to confess, but first…

"I was wondering if you noticed a change in Ai," As he spoke the anticipation dissipated, leaving disappointment in its wake, she had hoped for something else, she didn't know what he was supposed to say, she was just getting her hopes high for nothing. She should have known.

"Yes I have, and if I'm not mistaken it has something to do with that young taichou of hers, Kisuke,"

He nodded, "That seems to be the conclusion everyone has come to, well it was Yadomaru-fukutaichou, we had discussed it earlier today at lunch…" He gave an annoyed sigh, "How could I have not noticed? Everyone noticed bar me, her father! I should know her better than anyone, but lately it seems I do not even know her at all, the only times I even see her now are in my sick bed! If I can't even make time for my own daughter, I have no right to call myself a father," He looked away, a frown marring his usually calm features, he seemed very out of character at the moment with his frustrations.

Saki was surprised to say the least, but decided that right now what he needed was Saki's very own tough love, he didn't need someone to sugar coat his situation, he needed it stated to him point blank, with a solution to make it better in the long run. She got up onto the bench, her legs bent beneath her with her backside resting on her heels, facing him completely, he turned to her in her sudden change of position.

"You are right, maybe you haven't been a good father to her lately, maybe you haven't noticed those slight changes in your daughter that only you should notice, but I know Jyuushiro that you truly are a brilliant father, you bought up Ai to be the woman she is today, and the only thing you can do to rectify your current situation is to seek her out yourself, and have a real conversation with her. Just about anything and everything! If you make time for her, then your bond will only grow stronger, so quit the sob stories and do something about it, or it will only get worse for the both of you,"

He smiled in amusement at the grown woman's little rant, her cheeks were flushed, and seeing as she had said all that in one breath she was panting lightly, "I see you still have the uncanny ability to tell it to me as frank and as bluntly as possible, but thank you, that was pretty much what I needed to hear, I shall do my best from now on, it's hard for me and my situation… but I'll try,"

She grinned, her teeth on full show, and it nearly took his breath away, "I'm glad to know I can still be of service," she placed a hand on his shoulder, and her expression turned slightly serious, "I'm always here to help you Jyuushiro, do not ever hesitate to ask for my advice on anything, I'm still your friend you know… So don't you dare keep anything from me, you hear?" she gave him a playful glare, her smile reappearing.

He chuckled softly, and Saki relished in the sound.

She leaned to side against the back of the bench, relaxing as they fell into a comfortable silence.

After some few minutes, Jyuushiro's soft voice spoke, "What ever happened to us, Saki?"

She had been idly watching the sakura tress as they moved slowly in the warm night breeze, and when she turned her gaze upon one of her oldest friends, he was staring back at her with a solemn expression, she let out a soft sigh, her eyes soft, "We drifted apart I guess, what with us in different lines of work, we never got the chance to be like this anymore,"

"That's true, I hoped it would never come to this, us unable to make time for one and other anymore, we were inseparable back then weren't we?"

Saki smiled fondly, "We sure were," she began to feel nostalgia creeping up on her as the memories flooded her mind.

"I recall Shunsui not taking your retirement very well, when you finally decided to become a chef," he chuckled at the memory.

At this Saki was surprised, Shunsui had made it clear that he was very happy for her changing careers, he had even made a point of how positively annoying it was that Saki was moaning all of the time about how much she didn't enjoy work as a Shinigami and wanting to do what she most enjoyed… that was to her face, she had not even guessed that he could possibly think otherwise, but he was much closer to Jyuushiro, it seemed obvious he would display his inner most feelings to his best friend.

"From what I recall he was glad to be rid of me and my depressing state,"

"Far from it, he often boasted to me about how the three of us were all going to become taichou one day, and we would be the strongest, he always thought we would stick together… He would have never told you himself, he cared about you too much and he knew that you did not have the same dreams as we did, even though he knew, he didn't want to believe it, it wasn't until you finally got a job as a cook and told us you were retiring as a Shinigami that it really hit him I suppose,"

He cared for you too much… Saki didn't know exactly what he meant by that, Jyuushiro had no clue of what had passed between Saki and Shunsui… Did he?

"Wow, I never would have guessed Shunsui to think like that… He was such a jerk! Why would he think like that if we still got to see each other every day anyway? It's not as if my dreams got me very far, I'm still in the Seireitei!" she huffed, but quickly composed herself, "Well anyway, that was centuries ago, no need to dwell on the past, we've all changed since then," Yes, people change, dreams and paths change, but there is always that one thing that may never be irreversible… For me, it is my love for you Jyuushiro…

"I wouldn't say we have changed, we just grew up… I remember you being quite the wild child back in the day, you and Shunsui were a force to be reckoned with, sometimes I thought you were the worse of the two," He had a wide grin on his face, and Saki scoffed.

"I was not! Who was the one that snuck some sake into our Hado class and then had me blamed for it because and I quote, "Saki, you are older than your friend Shunsui, and should therefore watch out for his poor behaviour, you are becoming quite the influence on his developing mind," and then I get the detention for it, while Shunsui just got a measly slap on the wrist!"

"You missed out a part, she also happened to mention a few times before when it had been you who had snuck sake into the class," Saki narrowed her eyes at his perfect memory, "Oh and you mustn't forget that other time, who was the one that got home so early in the morning after a night out that they actually had to come to zanjutsu class drunk? You could just barely lift your sword, and when you eventually did you nearly sliced my arm off!" They both burst out laughing, relishing in the memories. Saki felt more carefree and relaxed than she had in a long, long time, she hadn't seen this side of her old best friend in centuries. It made her realise just how much she had missed him.

They were having this perfect moment, as two best friends just like in the old days, and Saki decided this was how she liked their relationship, easy going, and contentedly, laughing and talking, she had managed to restrain her feelings for over 400 years, she could put them off a while longer. No matter how much it would hurt her in the end, because that was how strong her love for Jyuushiro was, that was how much she cared about him, she didn't want to force her feelings onto someone who obviously did not-

"Saki, there is something that has been plaguing my mind recently…" he paused, turning his body fully to face her as she knelt, shocked by his sudden seriousness after laughing just a moment ago, but there was an edge to it, his face was flushing, and one hand was holding his wrist, rubbing it, that a sure sign when Jyuushiro was nervous about something, Saki knew him too well, "I've begun feeling things, nice things, toward… Well, you, Saki," He gave a shaky smile after this little revelation, he was waiting for a response, but Saki was sat in confusion, she couldn't understand what he was trying to say, she could make a guess, but her brain was not registering.

"Uh…" was her smart response. He grabbed her hands that had been gripping her knees, and held onto them in a gentle grip. Oh, Kami, his hands felt so soft definitely not what you would expect from a man who had trained hard and been on the battlefield many times in his life.

"Saki, what I'm trying, quite terribly, to say is, I love you,"

Saki's eyes were wide, and her jaw nearly fell off, she blinked, and quickly shut her mouth, not wanting to look more of an idiot than she already did, "You're joking right? Because there is no possible way on Earth, Hell, or soul Society you could love me," she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Now why would you think that?"

"Because it is just so… So… So sudden! I mean, after all of these years, why now?"

His eyes cast down, and he looked like a kicked puppy, "I know it's been centuries… It's probably too late isn't it?"

She snatched her hands from his and flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, she felt tears forming in her eyes, "Jyuushiro, I have loved you from that first week in Shino academy, I have never stopped, if anything my love has only grown stronger, it's never too late! I would wait forever for you! I-I l-love y-you s-s-so m-u-uch! I- I'm s-so h-h-happy!" during her speech she began crying harder, and by the end she was sobbing into his shoulder, holding him in such a tight grip, now that she had him she never wanted to let him go. His arms encircled her waist, and held onto her equally tight, rubbing her back gently to soothe her, pressing her small frame flush against his strong toned one, despite being quite ill a lot of the time, he still had a good physique.

He began to pull back slightly, and he felt Saki's grip tighten, he chuckled, and she relented, when he was released from her death grip, he wiped away her tears, not particularly liking them placed there, and he placed a hand on her face, caressing her cheek, with a pure look of adoration on his face, "I really do love you Saki, I'm sorry for all of the pain I must have put you through over the years, I didn't even know how you felt about me until a few years ago, and that was when Shunsui finally told me… My feelings then began emerging and I was seeing you in a different light, but I was scared, scared of moving on from Yumi…"

Saki placed a hand on the one holding her face softly, she leaned into the touch, she then in turn placed her other hand upon his own cheek, her thumb rubbing slightly for comfort, and also because his skin was just so smooth!

She smiled, "Oh you silly fool, you do not need to apologise for anything, you had no clue I understand, it was something for me to deal with, I know you had to have your own time grieving over your loss of Yumi and the feelings for her felt, I didn't want to push my own feelings onto you knowing that she out of the picture, I'm not like that…" she paused and when she spoke next her voice was laced with a growing lust, "But if you want to apologise for anything, then you can for being so damn irresistible," her hand moved to his neck, she was leaning forward, and she moved her other hand to his neck, locking her hands.

Following her lead, Jyuushiro started leaning forward, they both moved slowly, hesitant, their breathing became deep and heavy with anticipation, until finally, finally, their lips touched.

The hand on her cheek moved to her neck, while the other held a strong grip on her waist, locking her body with his, ensuring no escape.

Saki had only dreamt of kissing the one in her arms, and no dream compared, Jyuushiro was gentle, his lips soft, pressing against her own, they were so warm, moving in sync with hers, it was as if they were made for each other.

She pushed her body against his much larger frame, urging him to move backwards until his back was pressed against the bench, Saki then sat in his lap, with her legs on either side of his body, straddling his waist.

She then begun to feel brave, and opened her mouth slightly nudging his lips with her tongue, gently, and he allowed her access, her hands became tangled in his hair, it was as soft as she'd always imagined, she moaned as his tongue pressed against her own, pushing its way into her warm mouth.

She sighed into his mouth, she felt so elated, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, at last, after centuries and centuries of being burdened almost, with her feelings they were being reciprocated like she had never thought they would, this man holding her, kissing her, truly loved her. She could feel it, hell, she could see it, when he confessed his love for her, his eyes had a certain sparkle to them, and that expression on his face, he was looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing in the world, almost like he was really looking at her for the first time, something Saki had only seen when he would look at Yumi.

For once something in her life was going right.

And that was how they spent the rest of the night, on that bench among the many beautiful sakura trees, occasionally breaking for air to talk, but they would quickly start making out again, they couldn't seem to get enough of each other.

During this picture perfect moment only one thing seemed to plague their minds.

They just had to figure out how to break the news to Ai.


Whew! I am on a roll with this story, two updates in the space of a week? Now that's a new record for me! My loyal readers, you should know how terribly sorry I am for not updating on a regular basis (leaving it for months on end), I am NEVER giving up with this story, I am going to see it through to the end! It's just been hard because this year has been a hectic year for me, what with trying to get through my last year of college, and starting uni not even two months ago, I have had SOOOO much work to do, but have no fear my dears, for I AM updating on a regular basis now! Please don't leave me! T^T

Now that my long speech is over with, what did you think of this chapter? Please review and let me know what you think :3 I love you all! 3