Chapter 9

The End of Summer

The moon was full, bathing the room in silver light as a cool breeze blew in from the open window. It was refreshing after the great heat of the day. Uryu sat back in his chair, relaxing in the cool stillness of the night. He then heard a noise off to the side and looked to see Akemi standing casually in the doorway.

"Is everything ok?" he asked, growing concerned. Akemi smiled and stepped forward into the light.

"Yes, Uryu, everything is fine. I was just enjoying watching you relax." she replied happily. Uryu smiled back, looking lovingly at this incredible woman. At that moment, Uryu was completely entranced by her beauty. She wore only a white silk robe that barely reached her knees and her long hair hung loose, looking like molten silver in the moonlight. Even her blue eyes seemed to sparkle.

"How did I get so lucky?" he asked awestruck. Akemi smiled coyly as she straddled his legs and sat in his lap, facing him.

"We're both lucky." she whispered, resting her arms on his shoulders. Uryu smiled and leaned in for a kiss. Her lips were so soft against his and it seemed to ignite a fire within him. He immediately kissed her harder, each kiss coming faster as if each one wasn't enough. The two embraced each other tightly, not wanting to let go. Uryu felt like all was right with the world as long as he could stay with Akemi.

Uryu!

He heard the nagging voice but ignored it, focusing instead on Akemi.

Uryu! The voice came louder this time. It almost sounded like Ichigo.

URYU!

-)*(-

"URYU! Wake up, dammit!" Ichigo yelled as he swatted the Quincy with a pillow for good measure. Uryu jolted awake in his seat, the book he had been reading fell loudly to the floor. The startled young man looked around groggily then focused on the only other person in the room. It was Ichigo, not Akemi. It had all been a dream.

Uryu refused to let his disappointment show in front of Ichigo. Instead he looked balefully at the Substitute Soul Reaper.

"What do you want? I was sleeping." he asked curtly. He noticed that Ichigo was wearing his red swim trunks. Ichigo scowled and ran a hand through his spiky, orange hair.

"We're going to the beach. Orihime's worried about you and wants you to come with. So get dressed and get your ass out there!" he replied sharply and tossed Uryu's trunks at him. Uryu quickly caught them and was about to respond but Ichigo was already gone. Uryu sighed and reluctantly went to change.

It had been seven months since Akemi had left for the Soul Society and there was still no word on when she would be returning. She had missed the rest of the school year and now they were on summer vacation.

Orihime and Tatsuki had arranged a trip to the beach as a last hurrah before the start of the new school year but even that wasn't going well, for Uryu at least. Ichigo and Orihime's relationship had grown over the summer and they spent as much time as they could snuggling and kissing around the house and on the beach. The gentle healer had a calming effect on the tempestuous soul reaper.

Even Tatsuki and Chad's relationship was blooming. Although they were a bit more discrete about it. Still, it seemed that even here opposites attracted. Poor Uryu felt like the fifth wheel. He didn't even have Rukia or Renji to talk with. The both of them had returned to the Soul Society. So for most of the trip, Uryu had holed up in the library of the house they were renting and mostly read and slept. He was only going outside now because he didn't want to worry Orihime.

After he carefully placed Akemi's locket in his sock drawer, Uryu went outside, clad in his blue and white trunks, looking for his friends.

"Uryu! Over here!" Orihime called out happily. His friends were further down the beach and Uryu could see that they had dragged some lounge chairs that way as well. To Uryu's relief, all of his friends were sitting in their own chairs.

"Holy crap, Uryu! You're as white as a ghost!" Ichigo exclaimed, jolting Uryu from his thoughts. "You need to get out more!" Uryu looked at each of his friends and saw that he indeed was quite pale compared to his friends' healthy tans. He frowned at Ichigo as he sat straight in his chair.

"I'm just not an outdoors person." Uryu replied, pushing up his glasses defensively.

"Then why did you come? That was the whole point of the trip." Ichigo snapped irritably. Orihime was about to step in to calm her boyfriend but to everyone's surprise, it was Tatsuki who spoke up.

"Leave him alone, Ichigo, you blockhead!" she shouted angrily, "He came here so he could get out of town. He needed some space away from his girlfriend's memory." Ichigo winced, realizing his error, and sat back in his chair, properly chastened. He looked back at Uryu, face apologetic.

"Sorry, Uryu. I was being stupid." Uryu's face softened from its glare and once again he pushed up his glasses.

"It's ok. I haven't been taking advantage of this vacation. I'm sorry for worrying all of you." he apologized. Orihime smiled and clapped her hands together.

"Cheer up, Uryu! Akemi-chan will be home before you know it! You just relax and enjoy the rest of your vacation!" she said, staying optimistic. Uryu smiled and leaned back in his chair.

Orihime was right. They only had a couple more days here before they had to return to Karakura Town. Uryu didn't want to waste anymore time. Also, he didn't want to tell Akemi that all he did while she was gone was be sad and mope about. She would be disappointed.

For the rest of the day, Uryu hung out with his friends. They swam in the ocean, made sand castles, at Orihime's insistence, and later had a barbecue. By the end of the day, Uryu was exhausted but happy. After he washed all the sand and salt off of himself, he changed for bed and carefully took Akemi's locket out of his drawer.

Uryu laid down in bed and placed a hand over where the locket rested against his chest.

"Come home soon." he whispered and in minutes, the tired Quincy was fast asleep.

-)*(-

Karakura Town- Urahara Shop

Night had fallen but unlike near the ocean, the air was still hot and humid. Kisuke, Yoruichi, Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu sat outside drinking cold tea and trying to cool off since the store was too hot to be in.

"You know, boss, we wouldn't be in this mess if you would have remembered to check the A/C." Jinta grumbled. Tessai smacked the impertinent boy up the back of his head, knocking him forward and spilling his drink off the side of the porch.

"Jinta, you know Urahara-san is always caught up in some kind of project. If it was so important, you should have reminded him." the large man admonished the whining boy. Jinta pouted and grabbed his glass off the ground.

"Yeah. C'mon, Ururu, let's get some more tea." the young boy said sullenly to his female counterpart. The girl quickly stood and quietly followed Jinta back into the shop.

"Kids." Tessai groaned. "Sorry about that, Kisuke."

"Eh, it's ok, Tessai. We'll get it fixed tomorrow." Kisuke replied in his relaxed manner. He leaned back, supported by his arms on the deck, and gazed at the sky.

"It's a nice night to be out anyway." he added. All was quiet for a bit longer until there was a sudden rise in spiritual pressure. The three adults stood, preparing for an attack. However, no attack came. The source of the change was the creation of a gateway. The three of them stood ready as the doors swung open. A lone figure stepped through but they couldn't see who it was because of the light from the gate.

Once the gate closed, they all relaxed visibly. Kisuke grinned, putting one hand on his hip and the other raising his fan.

"Well, I'll be damned. Welcome back."

Akemi smiled and waved at her family.

"It's good to be home."