Disclaimer: Knock, knock jokes got boring.
The sun had set and the clouds were beginning to roll in, covering the navy sky in a blanket of dark gray. Kanehara sat on her floor doing her homework on the table in her kitchen. The scratching of her pencil against the paper was only dulled by the sound of UVERworld playing on the small radio on the counter by the fridge. She stretched and yawned, then got back to work. Not even fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on her door. Kanehara started and looked up at it, wondering whom it could be at this hour. She stood and walked over to it, straightening her ponytail, and opened the door. On the landing stood a short, portly man with oil-slicked black hair and large, square spectacles.
"Mr. Takenawa!" She said in surprise, opening the door a little wider. "Is there a problem?" Kanehara asked, raising her blue eyebrows.
Takenawa cleared his throat and fiddled with a brown envelope in his hands. "Satsuki," he began, "You're a very sweet girl, and I don't want to do this… But…" He took a deep breath, straightened his glasses, and handed her the envelope. "I'm evicting you. I've been kind enough to extend the deadline days, and even weeks, but you haven't paid the rent."
Kanehara paled, the envelope trembled in her hands. "But… Mr. Takenawa…"
"I'm sorry, Satsuki. You have three days to remove your belongings. I hope you can find another tenant." The small man turned and walked back down the stairs, and in a moment had disappeared around the corner.
Kanehara stood in the doorway, the night wind tossing her cerulean hair gently about her face. She was in utter disbelief and shock. I thought I'd paid this month's rent… I could've sworn… I… She dropped to her knees and bit her lip, trying to force back the tears that threatened to run down her cheeks. Her shoulders shook with silent sobs, and tears dripped down her chin, lightly spattering her jeans and the eviction letter's envelope, leaving dark blotches as the water absorbed.
"I'd better get packing," she murmured to herself, vigorously wiping away the tears from her eyes. "I…" she swallowed and stopped, standing up and shutting the door.
Tuesday morning came, and Kanehara awoke to her alarm going off. The shrill beeping ceased as Kanehara whacked it. She shook her head and looked around. She had fallen asleep in her clothes from yesterday; her hair knotted itself around her hair tie while she had slept. The envelope rested on her bed next to her, she picked it up, and stared at it for a moment, then tossed it into her garbage can next to her closet.
The bus ride to school was long, and today even more monotonous. Kanehara couldn't shake the feeling of doom that gripped her heart like an icy hand. She couldn't bring herself to talk to her friends that day, either. Rukia, Orihime, Chad, Ishida, and even Ichigo had asked her what was wrong. Every time, she had just shaken her head in reply, and they didn't ask again. I suppose they more than anyone can sense my emotions… She thought miserably. Lunchtime rolled around, and Kanehara made her way to the roof. She sat against the fence, not touching her bento that lay beside her, still wrapped.
"Alright, Satsuki! Something's wrong, now what is it?!" a voice demanded. Kanehara was suddenly pulled forward. Rukia had grabbed the front of her uniform and was now shaking her vigorously. "Come on! You can't be moping around for nothing!"
"Kuchiki-san!" Orihime said worriedly, putting a hand on Rukia's shoulder. "Shouldn't you be a bit more gentle-"
"No! If she's not gonna talk, I'm gonna make her talk!" Rukia shouted, shaking Kanehara again.
Kanehara's face remained emotionless; her eyes had lost their sparkle. Rukia let go, and Kanehara slumped against the fence again. Ichigo, Ishida, and Chad had come through the door now. There was silence between the three girls. The men walked over and sat down near the others.
"Aou-atama, what's wrong?" Ichigo asked, studying Kanehara's face. Kanehara just shook her head again; she couldn't find the will to speak. "Is it really that bad that you can't even talk about it?" Kanehara didn't respond. He sighed in frustration.
"I'm sorry to make you all worry so much, but really, I'm fine. I just… am a bit sick. That's all." Kanehara lied quietly, "It's drained all my energy." She finished, staring at the ground.
"Liar." Ishida said, opening his bento, his face hidden behind his raven bangs.
Kanehara didn't reply. She picked up her bento, but didn't open it.
"Fine, we won't ask. But, we will find out, got it?" Ichigo stated firmly while pulling his bento open and picking up his chopsticks.
The rest of the group gradually began to talk about other things, leaving Kanehara to her own thoughts. She thanked them mentally, locking herself inside her mind, as she drifted onto thoughts of darkened streets and dragging suitcases through torrents of rain.
The clouds had thickened, and the temperature proceeded to drop throughout the week. It was Wednesday morning, and Kanehara climbed once again onto the bus just as the rain had started to sprinkle. She had brought along her jacket this time, not having bought an umbrella since the last rainstorm. As she sat staring out of the window, she remembered the many hours last night she had spent sorting her belongings into boxes, and all the boxes stood next to the door, stacked neatly. Kanehara clenched her teeth as she wondered where she would stay, knowing full well that she didn't have much money left. I could always find a nice cave. She thought wryly, twisting her blue hair between her fingers.
No one had asked her again why she had not spoken at all, not even to the teacher when she was asked a question. Through the thick of the gloom and gray, another Hollow had attacked, probably drawn to the school from the strong pulse of reiatsu. Ichigo had transformed and taken it out with no difficulty, and the other five let out, once again, barely audible sighs of relief.
There have been a lot of Hollow attacks lately, Kanehara thought, her eyebrows bent slightly. I wonder how come?
The rain pounded against the classroom window. The bell rang for dismissal and Kanehara left as fast as she could, leaving behind five very worried and confused highschool students.
Thursday morning, the last day. Kanehara thought hopelessly as she dragged her boxes one by one down the staircase and onto the curb. The rain had begun to pour, but Kanehara couldn't even find the energy to care anymore. She had wrapped the box she was taking with her in plastic; the others had been marked 'Free' and left on the curb. Kanehara had locked her door for the last time before returning the key and her spare to Mr. Takenawa. Kanehara knew there was no way she could go to school today, so she began to wander.
She held the box by the plastic bag it was encased in and walked through the rain. She stopped every now and again to sit on a bench. Once, she had glanced at her watch, it was five o'clock. With a jolt, Kanehara realized she had been homeless for nine hours. The icy hand of depression had a death grip around her heart, squeezing mercilessly.
The rain had not eased it's pounding, and Kanehara had sought refuge underneath the limbs of an old oak tree in the park not far from the heart of Karakura town. The sun had set, and the temperature had dropped another ten degrees, Kanehara thought, and shivered, pulling her thick jacket more tightly around her. She drew her denim-clad legs closer to her and unwillingly drifted into an uneasy sleep, completely exhausted from the day's events.
Orihime stood at Ichigo's door, waiting for someone to answer. A moment later, Ichigo opened the door and his eyebrows shot up.
"Inoue! What are you doing here?" he asked confusedly, looking her drenched appearance up and down.
Orihime bit her lip and played with a lock of orange hair. "I'm really worried about Kanehara-san… She's been acting so strange lately, and she didn't show up for school today." Orihime's voice wavered; her gray eyes had tears in the corners.
Ichigo blanched and put his hands on her shoulders. "She's fine, Orihime! She was probably…" He seemed to be racking his brain for an excuse for Kanehara, but couldn't. He sighed.
"I went to her apartment to check up on her, and the landlord said she'd been evicted." Orihime's tears leaked out, and dripped slowly down her cheeks. "That's why she's been so depressed! And now she's probably out there right now!" Her voice raised an octave higher. "She didn't want to tell us because she knew we'd offer to let her stay with us!"
"And she didn't want to burden us." Ichigo's face darkened. "Kuso!" he swore, running a hand through his orange hair.
Orihime was crying now. "We have to find her, Ichigo! Please, she might be hurt or sick! In this weather-" Ichigo cut her frantically trembling voice off.
"I'm no good at finding reiatsu. Come on, we're going to get help." Ichigo said reassuringly, turning to slip his shoes on and grabbing a jacket. "DAD! I'm going out!" he shouted down the hall. Ichigo shut the door to the Kurosaki house behind him, then the pair of redheads dashed out into the freezing rain.
Ichigo and Orihime had arrived, panting and soaking at the door of the Urahara Shouten thirty minutes later. Ichigo pulled the sliding door open and the pair stepped inside.
"Urahara!" Ichigo called, and waited for a reply. His heart was pounding, and he didn't care to try and stop it.
The sound of wooden sandals clacking against the floor grew louder and Urahara came around the corner. "Kurosaki-kun! Inoue-san! What are you-" Ichigo cut him off.
"Kanehara's gone." He said urgently, and Urahara's eyes flashed. "She was evicted today, and she's run off."
Tessai had entered the room; he loomed over Urahara's shoulder and crossed his arms. "Kanehara-san's gone?"
Urahara stood there for a moment, absorbing the shock. "What are we standing around for?!" his entire personality had done a complete turnaround. "Tessai," he said turning to him, "Make sure Ururu and Jinta don't leave. If she turns up here, I want you to make sure she stays." Tessai nodded. "Inoue-san," Urahara turned to face Orihime. "I want you to stay here," he held up a hand to halt her protesting, "I need you to stay here with Tessai incase she does need healing." His jaw tightened noticeably. "Let's go."
The sky had darkened and a wind had picked up. Ichigo and Urahara had been searching for over an hour, but there was no sign of her. Then he felt it. It was so weak, Urahara didn't notice it before, and then it nearly vanished completely. The reiatsu was wavering faintly.
"The park!" Urahara shouted to Ichigo over the roaring of the wind. The Shinigami representative nodded, and the two took off down another street heading towards one of the national parks, the rain soaking them both completely. Urahara clenched his fist around his cane, determination written across his face.
They reached the park in a matter of minutes and dashed in without stopping. The blonde manager led the way, the reiatsu still faint, but he knew they were closing in on it.
"Urahara!" Ichigo yelled, pointing to a figure underneath a tree almost fifty feet from them.
Urahara could just make out the outline of Kanehara, and his heart rate increased, his adrenaline pumping. They skidded to a stop and Urahara knelt down in the semi-shelter of the oak tree. Kanehara didn't move. Urahara quickly put two fingers to Kanehara's pale neck. He barely moved until he had realized her heart was still beating. Urahara sighed in relief and noticed a large box wrapped in plastic next to her.
"Take the box." He said to Ichigo, and lifted Kanehara into his arms, hooking her arms around his neck. Her head fell limply against his chest, her blue hair soaking and stuck to the sides of her face. "Hang on, Satsuki." He whispered in her ear, and then began to run with Ichigo back towards the street.
Ichigo pulled the sliding door open and dropped the box just inside the door, and quickly stepped aside so Urahara could enter, carrying the limp body of Kanehara that he held tightly against him.
"Satsuki!" Orihime shrieked as she dashed forward to Urahara, who handed Kanehara to Tessai's outstretched arms. The giant of a man carried Kanehara off up the staircase, and Urahara collapsed against the wall in relief, dropping his cane with a clatter. Ichigo walked over to him, pushing his sopping orange hair out of his eyes.
"Thanks." He said shortly, and Urahara looked up and nodded once.
"Thank you. If you hadn't told me…" Urahara faltered, and Ichigo nodded.
"Urahara-san!" Orihime threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Urahara gaped and felt his cheeks warm. "Thank you! Thank you!" she cried, tears running down her cheeks as she buried her face in his soaking chest. Urahara had almost recovered from the stun when Orihime let go and promptly grabbed Ichigo and pulled him into a tight hug, too. "Thank you, Ichigo!" she sniffled. Ichigo's cheeks turned the slightest shad of pink to match Urahara's, and tried to shy away, embarrassed.
"Really, Inoue…" Ichigo muttered; his arms still pinned to his sides.
"I was so worried about all of you!" She sobbed, letting go of Ichigo. She beamed through her tears and turned on her heel, and dashed up the stairs. The two men stood there for a moment, still stunned by what Orihime did, when Urahara cleared his throat and Ichigo took off his jacket and busied himself with shaking his head.
"I'm going to go up and get Orihime and walk her back home." Ichigo said, and walked out of the storefront to the staircase, and then disappeared up it.
Urahara stood there, alone now. He was soaked to the bone, his clothes clinging to his slender frame. Only his breathing broke the silence of the now empty room. He swallowed and sank down to his knees, closing his eyes. He buried his face in his hand and felt the exhaustion and relief flood his body.
"Kisuke."
Urahara dropped his hand and looked up at Yoruichi who sat next to him, watching him with her luminescent yellow eyes. He sat up straight and cleared his throat. "Yoruichi, I didn't see you…"
"I know." She said, and her brow furrowed slightly. "You were scared, weren't you?" she asked gruffly with a tinge of disbelief. The end of her tail twitched as she surveyed the manager.
Urahara sighed and pulled off his sopping hat, running a hand through his drenched white-blonde hair. "I suppose I can't hide it from you, ne?" he murmured, and closed his eyes. "Yes, I was scared tonight." He leaned against the wall, opening his eyes. He stared at the hat in his hands.
Yoruichi sighed and padded closer, putting a paw on Urahara's hand. He looked over at her. "I won't tell anyone, Kisuke, if that's what you're worried about."
He hesitated for a moment, and Yoruichi caught the pause. He seemed to rethink his next action and instead spoke. "Thank you, Yoruichi." He stood up, and turned away. Urahara slipped out of his sandals and walked barefoot across the wooden floor, his clothes dripping occasionally, and mounted the stairs.
Yoruichi smiled as she watched the retreating form of her old friend disappear up the staircase.
Urahara pushed open the door to his room and saw a small gaggle of people gathered around Kanehara's futon. Everyone turned to look at him as he walked over to join the small crowd.
"Kisuke-san," Ururu began softly, "Satsuki-san is alright."
"She doesn't appear to have any symptoms or injuries." Tessai said quietly, "But she's still unconscious. Orihime didn't have to heal her." Orihime nodded, her tears had dried by now.
"We'd better go, Inoue." Ichigo said, putting a hand on her shoulder and looked down at her. Orihime nodded again and she didn't argue.
"May I stop by tomorrow, Urahara-san, to see how she's doing?" Orihime asked.
Urahara smiled and nodded. "Of course, Inoue-san."
Orihime beamed and followed Ichigo out of the room.
"Jinta, time for bed." Tessai said gently in his deep voice, waiting for the redheaded boy to leave the room. Jinta glared angrily up at Tessai.
"I don't need a bedtime!" he growled quietly, but stormed out of the room anyways.
Tessai watched Urahara for a moment, meeting his shadowed blue-gray eyes, and nodded. He walked across the room and bent to leave. As he passed, he muttered "Soft spot." and disappeared through the doorway.
"Ururu, could you change Satsu-chan into some dry clothes? I'll be back in a moment." He said, taking a pair of emerald green pajama pants out of his closet.
Ururu bowed. "Of course, Kisuke-san." She immediately turned and opened one of the drawers to Kanehara's dresser, searching for a pair of pajamas. Urahara slipped quietly out of the room, closing the door silently behind him.
Ururu found what she was looking for, and laid it on the bed beside Kanehara's slumbering form. She propped Kanehara on her side and proceeded to remove her shirt. She laid it carefully on the floor. She turned back and noticed five long, thick scars diagonally down Kanehara's back. Ururu blinked and touched one carefully. The smooth skin shone slightly, and she pulled her away, slipping the girl into a warm, dry tank top. She continued removing clothing and replaced them all with the dry pajamas. Ururu picked up the wet clothing and carried it to the door, opening it.
"You can go back inside, Kisuke-san. Good night." Ururu smiled softly up at Urahara, then continued on her way to the bathroom to hang the clothes to dry.
Urahara re-entered his bedroom, and closed the door behind him. He walked over to Kanehara now dry and tucked in. The former Shinigami knelt beside her futon and watched her sleep, lightly brushing her bangs out of her eyes and tucking a loose lock of blue hair behind her ear.
"Satsuki… Why didn't you tell us?" he whispered, a curious expression on his features. He sighed quietly and cupped her face for a moment with his right hand. "Good night." He said softly. He rose and walked back across the room. The lights dimmed again and Urahara slid under his own covers, sleep tugging at his consciousness. As soon as he closed his eyes, he had fallen asleep.
Author's Note: Ichigo's nickname for Kanehara, 'Aou-atama' literally means 'Blue head'. I hope you all like this chapter! Thank you to Solstarset for the inspiration for chapter nine.
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