Author Note: Thanks goes to EaSnowPw and thunderyoshi for the wonderful reviews. Thanks also goes to tabetaisu for becoming a follower to this story.

Chapter 10:

Irina

I was annoyed and Shinji probably knew it to; but to be honest, I didn't care. This whole situation was confusing enough without him touching me and now all I wanted to do was be close to him. What the hell was wrong with me? He was my Captain, my superior. Surprisingly enough, those facts didn't even matter to me.

We had been so close to kissing, to the point that I doubted I'd fight against it. Arisa's watchful stare was aimed right at me. She knew that something happened; but I was thankful that she didn't push the issue. At least not yet anyway. "Everything will be fine." Eakattā's voice echoed.

"Are you sure?" I asked keeping my eyes ahead.

"Yes, things will seem clearer with more time."

God, I loved my zanpakuto. She always knew what to say to get my emotions back on track. Shinji walked in front of us, despite Arisa's protest for us to walk up front. I assumed his ego got the better of him, though I didn't know for sure. We hung back waiting for orders. He never spoke a word the entire time we were in the section between the Soul Society and The World of the Living.

The silence got my brain working, making me think about his hands on my skin. Was it wrong of me to have enjoyed those gentle caresses? Knowing he had kept watch over me all these years got my heart pumping blood faster than it should be and the heat returned to my cheeks, unwelcomed and completely noticeable.

"Are you okay?" Arisa asked putting her hand on my upper arm.

"Honestly, I don't know." I answered not meeting her gaze.

Ahead of us was the opening to The World of the Living. The bright white light was almost blinding; but once we stepped through, it was no longer there. Before me was forest as far as my eyes could see. This was not what I had expected and the night sounds were completely different. Crisper perhaps. "Stay here...I'm going to search the area. "Shinji announced.

"Captain, you really should let us do that." Arisa protested.

"No, you keep an eye on Miss Kasumi..."

Miss Kasumi? Really? We were back to formalities. He officially pissed me off now. Letting out a burst of spiritual pressure, he stopped dead mid-step. Arisa eyed me suspiciously, probably wondering what exactly I was doing giving our position away. If he asked, I wasn't sure what I'd tell him. All I knew was the anger I felt by the sarcasm he used with my name. "Is there a reason you're trying to let the hollows know where we are?" Shinji asked with narrowed eyebrows.

"How about you stay with Arisa and let me scout the area." I countered with malice laced in my voice.

I took several steps closer to him. Arisa reached out for me; but just grazed my arm. She knew that I wasn't happy with the current situation. Somehow her pleading eyes calmed me, at least a little bit. Not looking at Shinji one time, I took off into the forest leaving them alone and with a wonder of what they would speak of without my company.

Shinji

Irina's anger was plain as day. I guess that I couldn't blame her. My frustration got the better of me. Her beautiful blue eyes flickered with rage the second the sarcastic use of her came out of my mouth. It came as no surprise that her energy would twinge as well, though I believed she did it on purpose to prove a point. "Captain..." Arisa called.

"Yes."

I knew what was coming. Arisa had become pretty close to Irina over the last couple of days. She behaved like a sister to her and she was going to talk like one right now. I just had this feeling a lecture was heading in my direction. "What happened between you two? She was perfectly fine before we left." She asked.

"Nothing..."

"Sorry Captain; but I just don't believe that."

I turned my head to catch her searching eyes. What did she want me to say? That Irina meant more to me than she should. That every time I'm near her, the only thing I want to do was kiss her, to finally taste those lips that have haunted me for fifty years. There was a limit to how much I could take and Irina's presence was testing my control on a daily basis.

"It's not your concern." I stated with irritation.

"She is my concern. Her injuries are nowhere near healed enough for this; but for some reason she feels like she has something to prove."

I couldn't imagine why Irina would feel the need to think such a thing. She had nothing to prove to me or to the rest of the squad. They already spoke highly of her. It was me that didn't praise her as much as I should. Maybe that was because of my emotions, I didn't know. What I did know was that I was growing impatient for her to return.

Closing my yes, I searched for a hint of her spiritual pressure. It was faint; but I did feel its comforting energies tingling against my skin. Standing here waiting for her to come back wasn't going to do any of us any good, because if she was mad enough...she'd just stay away until she was over it. That was far too dangerous to do right now.

"I'm going after her." I stated.

"Not without me." Arisa shouted running after me.

There was nothing but trees everywhere we turned. Something wasn't right, I could feel it. Hollows should be swarming the area if the details given to me were correct. There was no sign of Irina anywhere and it was beginning to worry me. Arisa narrowed her eyes, concentrating on the task at hand.

The ripples in the dimension appeared behind her. I reached out and pulled her back swiftly, just as the first hollow appeared. My hand instinctively came to the hilt of my sword. The roar revealed the surge in power this creature possessed. "Stay on guard, Arisa. There could be more." I ordered.

"Yes, sir." She replied with a trembling voice.

The hollow lunged with an open mouth; but before it reached us, a blade severed right through it. Black dust started to blow away into nothing and in its place stood Irina. Her long ebony hair messy and her uniform ripped in several places. It made wonder what exactly happened to her. She was panting, clearly out of breath. "Irina...are you...okay?" Arisa asked hesitantly taking steps towards her.

"I'm...fine..." She answered taking a single step in our direction before collapsing to a knee.

"You are not fine, Irina. What happened?" I asked kneeling down in front of her.

She looked up from the ground, capturing my eyes in an instant. The moment, however, didn't last. She pushed me aside with the tip of her zanpakuto pointed outward. Another cry of a hollow filled the night. Getting to my feet, I pulled my own blade from its sheath. I leapt into the air before coming down, cutting the beast in half. She couldn't do everything herself. What kind of Captain would I be if I let her do that? "Captain..." Irina breathlessly called.

"Yes..."

"Something is wrong here. The hollows seem to be just waiting with only one target in mind. Me..."

She fell forward. In a flash, I caught her in my arms. Her breathing was labored as my arms scooped her up, holding her bridal style. We needed to find a safe place to treat her wounds. Going back to the Soul Society was out of the question now. The Head Captain would expect the job to be done and he wouldn't care that Irina was injured.

Arisa led us through another thick set of woods, before coming across a large cavern. It was our best chance. She tweaked her kidō to create light. Inside the cave, there was nothing but limestone walls and running water, which was perfect. I gently laid Irina down on the ground, before turning to our other travel companion. "Will you gather wood? She's going to need warmth now."

"Of course."

Turning back towards Irina, I tweaked my own kidō for light. Ripping a large chunk of my shihakusho off, I dipped it into the cold water and placed it gently on the open wound on her shoulder. She hissed in pain, her eyes flying wide open. "Calm down, it's me..." I coaxed urging her to lay back down.

"Shinji..."She whispered.

"Shh...everything is fine."

"I'm sorry..."

Her apology startled me. I didn't expect her to say anything at all, because it was me that needed to apologize. She was only acting on her feelings and I pushed her away for the second time. My free hand cradled the side of her face, brushing my thumb across the warm flesh of her cheek. "There is no need to apologize. You did nothing wrong. It was I that did..."

Her eyes shifted, trying to capture mine fully. She gingerly reached up to curl her fingers around my hand. Her touch sparked all those feelings within me all over again. A smile tugged on her lips, curving them up. "I want...to know what this is..." She admitted pulling my hand away only to lace her fingers through mine.

"Irina..."

She forced herself it sit up, despite my objections not to. The blood had stopped flowing from the wound, that fact alone pleased me. Her hold on my hand grew tighter. "I got what I could, sir." Arisa announced stepping inside the cave.

Irina

I immediately pulled my hand away and looked at the woman, who was probably the only friend I've ever had. She gave me a questioning glance as she stepped passed me to sit down the bundle of wood in her arms. She pushed the branches together and in a matter of seconds her kidō caught them ablaze.

"That should get you warm soon enough." She said with a sweet smile.

"Thank you, Arisa." I said shivering, just realizing just how cold I really was now that Shinji wasn't close anymore.

"No problem at all. I'll be outside keeping watch if you need me."

I wanted to tell her that I was sorry for not being the teacher she deserved; but the words fled my mouth the moment she winked at me, obviously wanting me to sort things out with Shinji. Sliding closer to the fire, the mixture of colors danced in a beautiful collaboration. Once my injuries healed, really healed, I was going to show her everything possible. She deserved so much more than she was currently getting.

A warm embrace landed on my shoulders, snapping me out of my personal thoughts. I realized Shinji had draped his haori over my arms. The white fabric was indeed beautiful and smelled of him. "Thank you..."

"You're welcome."

Shinji sat down next to me, taking my hand back into his own. Another smile washed over me. It took everything I had not to lean into him or steal the kiss my body so desperately wanted. The crackling of the wood in the flames was soothing and hid the blush on my cheeks well. "I don't know what this is...and I don't know what to do about it. I am your Captain, it's completely inappropriate."

"I think we both know you don't really care about that."

"You're right...I don't..."

I turned to look at him, now realizing that his face was so close to mine. The words I wanted to say completely vanished from my tongue. The flames reflected against the amber color of his eyes. This man will be the death of me and I still didn't understand why I was so drawn to him.

His warm breath caressed me, making it that much harder to resist. Leaning in as if my body had a mind of its own, he met me inch for inch until our lips finally connected. A new world exploded around me and the way his mouth felt on mine was a feeling I'd never forget. My stomach tightened just as my fingers did on his uniform. He held onto me ever so gently and every movement of his lips against mine sent another wave of emotions flooding though my very being.

"Irina..." He whispered breaking away.

"I know...it can't happen again, right?"

He smiled a large toothy grin. Something was going on inside that head of his and I wanted to know what it was. Why did these feelings appear? Why the hell is my heart pounding so hard? Damnit! This was all new to me. "Actually, I was going to say how amazing that was." He said with a soft chuckle.