The Mysteries of This Life

Chapter 9: The Comfort of Dreaming

Yamasorrowichi arrived at Tatsuki's house later than expected. The little spirit girl was worried that she had gotten killed. When she walked through the door, she went straight to the kitchen and ate what was left of the dinner she had made. After that, they all sat in the living room. Tatsuki looked at her expectantly.

"Well?"

"What?"

"What happened?"

"Some guy came along and killed them all. I talked to him for a while to figure things out and then I came here. I asked a lot of questions and he answered them all. I even asked him if I was dead. He told me I wasn't."

"So those things are dead?"

"Yeah. They were what's called a hollow. They eat souls. They are more drawn to live people that can see them. If a person can see a hollow, it proves that the person has a big amount of spiritual pressure. The hollows enjoy the taste of spiritual pressure. Apparently I have a lot of it and I'm keeping it under wraps unless I'm fighting a hollow. He was surprised that I haven't destroyed my body with the amount of spiritual pressure I have. He said that I have more spiritual pressure than anyone he's ever met. Apparently it's a good thing."

"You must be tired. Fighting a hollow with your bare hands is no small feat." Tatsuki and Yamasorrowichi turned to the girl.

"Who are you anyways?"

"My name is Yoko."

""Ok. Well, Yoko, you're right. I'm exhausted after that. I think I'm gonna go to bed. Tatsuki, where do I sleep?"

"Follow me." Tatsuki lead her to a room and she curled up on the bed without changing or getting under the covers. Tatsuki closed the door, blocking out all the light. Once the door was closed, Yamasorrowichi fell asleep.

_Dream_

Young Yamasorrowichi stood in the school yard. Her face was turning red from the heat. She didn't leave though. She didn't even move. She just stood there staring straight ahead. She was waiting it seemed. Everyone that passed by stared at her. She was starting to get angry and impatient. 'Where is he,' she thought in frustration. After about 20 more minutes, she turned and started walking.

"Yamasorrowichi-chan! Wait a minute!" She turned around at the voice of her friend. He was running towards her with something in his hand. He came to a stop in front of her and gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for being late. I wanted to get you something. Close your eyes and hold out your hands." She did as he told her. He plopped something in her hands. "You can open them now." She opened her eyes and looked at what was in her hands. It was a little pink hippo figurine that was wearing a necklace with the sparkling letter U on it. She looked up at him. "You said you favorite animal was a hippo and your room is all pink. The walls are a nice shade by the way. I got the pink hippo to match your tastes and the color scheme of your room. The necklace is a sparkly U because you seem to like sparkly jewelry and I don't want you to ever forget me." She looked at the hippo and necklace then back at him. She met his eyes and smiled.

"Thank you Yu-kun. Can you do something for me?"

"What is it?"

"Help me put the necklace on?"

"Of course I'll help you." He grabbed the necklace and stood behind her. HE put the necklace against her neck in the front and brought the clasps around the back of her neck. He clasped the necklace over her hair and pulled her hair out of it before placing the necklace against her neck. "There you go." He went around to the front of her and stared at the way she looked in the necklace. "The necklace looks pretty on you. Do you like the gifts?"

"Yep! I love them! They're amazing! Thank you so much Yu-kun!"

"You're welcome Yamasorrowichi-chan." He smiled at her.

"Will you walk home with me?"

"Of course. Is your dad going to get mad at me and force me to leave again?"

"No. He doesn't get off of work yet."

"Oh. When does he?"

"I think around 5:30."

"You're going to be alone that whole time?"

"Yeah. It doesn't matter though. It's happened a lot of times."

"Should I stay there with you for a while so you aren't all alone?"

"If you want to, and as long as you won't get in trouble."

"Ok. I'll stay for a while then."

"Ok!" They started walking towards her house. During their walk, they talked about whatever came to mind. Yamasorrowichi couldn't help but think of it as fun. She enjoyed walking home with him and talking. She smiled the whole way home. When they got there, she unlocked the door and led him inside, closing the door behind them. She locked the door and led him up to her room. He followed her into the room and saw her set down her hippo in front of a picture of her and another girl their age. HE pointed at the picture.

"Who's that in the picture with you?"

"That's my friend Tatsuki from my old school. I usually call her Suki-chan."

"Oh." He looked around her room. It had gotten more things since the last time he was in there. He pointed at a picture of her and a boy with orange hair. "Who's he?" he asked in a dull monotone voice.

"That's Itchy-chan. He's also known as Ichi-chan, Ichigo-chan, and a disappointment for walking home safety."

"Is he your friend?"

"Yeah. He's also from my old school. Another thing I have a habit of calling him is anything that has to do with carrots. One time I called him carrot soup and he got mad. It was funny."

"Do you like him?"

"Yeah. He's my friend. Of course I like him. I like you more though."

"Oh." He was blushing at her comment. She walked over to him and gave him a hug.

"Thank you so much for those gifts. They were great." He blushed even more and hugged her back. "You're such a great friend. When do you have to leave?" She let go and stood in front of him, staring at him with her blue eyes.

"Anytime before it starts to get dark."

"Is that when you have to be at your house?"

"Yeah."

"I'm going to call my dad and ask if I can go to your house for a while."

"Wait. Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would you call him to tell him you're going to my house?"

"I was hoping we could go there and I could see it and meet your family."

"That's not a good idea."

"Why not?"

"My father wouldn't like you. He's very critical. He doesn't even seem to like me and I'm his son."

"Wow. That's really sad. So I guess we should stay here."

"That's the best idea."

"Ok. So what do you want to do for while we're here? It's just you and me for a while."

"I don't know. What do you usually do?"

"I do my homework, cook dinner, and relax. There's really not much that I do here."

"Well there has to be something that we can do. This is your house so you know what things there are for us to do."

"Well yeah. But the only thing I can think of is the pool in our backroom. It's fun to swim in it. But you only have your regular clothes. The most we can do is put our feet in the water and kick them."

"Well that's at least something to do."

"Before we continue I wanna show you something."

"What is it?"

"You'll see." She ran of to her closet and pulled out a box. She gently sifted through it and pulled out a picture. She took it over to him and showed him. "It's a picture of my mom when she was in high school."

"Wow. She was pretty."

"I know. I miss her."

"Of course you do. She's your mom."

"I know but I feel like I'm making her sad wherever she is by being sad and missing her." He pulled her into a hug as she looked down sadly. She was surprised that he hugged her without her hugging him first. She welcomed the warmth and calming feeling she got by him hugging her. She wanted to cry, but she had promised her mom she wouldn't cry if she could help it. She held back the tears for a long time before she started thinking that she could cry just this once. Then she just thought of the promise. She would keep it and not cry even though she wanted to. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight to make herself feel better. She felt warmth spread through her while she hugged him. After a long time that seemed too short they let go. She felt a little bit better to know that he actually cared about her and the way she felt. She put the picture away and walked back over to him. "Thank you Yu-kun for caring. It makes me feel a little bit better to know that you do."

"Of course I care about you. I care about you more than anyone else."

"Thank you." She didn't realize what he meant. She looked at the clock. "It's almost 5! I have to get dinner started or it won't be ready by the time dad gets home. Will you help me?"

"Of course I will."

They cooked dinner together and actually enjoyed the process.

She jolted awake at the sound of Tatsuki calling out her name. When she woke up, she fell out of bed. Tatsuki laughed at her.

"Owwwwwwwww! Tatsuki! Hey, where's Yoko?"

"She's in the living room."

"Ok. I'm going back to sleep."

"No you aren't." Tatsuki dragged her out of the room.

"Nooooooooooooooooooo! Tastuki, whyyy? I wanna go back to sleep though!" Tatsuki continued to drag her out of the room and they started their day.

(A/N: So that was chapter 9. Please review. I don't own Bleach or its characters. I only own Yamasorrowichi and Yoko. Next chapter might come up later on today or not. It all depends. I'm gonna put some comedy in there. It's really needed. I'm still desperate for reviews. Uhm. If you review you get a digital cupcake. Have a great day!)