Disclaimer; I do not own bleach or any of the characters used... even that characters not mentioned or seen in the series… I own nothing.

10 Waiting for a message

*Just message me when you get there and when you get back so I know you're alright.*

*Alright, I got here and so far so good.

I need to thank you again for everything. If it weren't for you I would be a mess right now so thanks, Tatsuki. I never thought things would end up like this, so without you... I don't know what I'd do right now.*

Tatsuki opened her eyes and looked absentmindedly at her ceiling. It was Sunday night and the day after Yasuko's funeral. There was no word yet from Chizuru to let Tatsuki know what happened and how she was doing. It was still a bit of a touchy subject but not as much as it had been before. The last message from Chizuru had been Friday evening just to say everything was fine.

While Tatsuki was grateful for that she hadn't heard from her since and she was beginning to worry. The previous morning she had woken up thinking about her more then she ever thought she would and with more then just concern. It had dawned on her then just how much she had begun to care for her and now she was overly grateful that she had just ignored Chizuru's feelings instead of straight out rejected her as she slowly started to realize that she wanted a bit more then what they had currently but with a lot less awkwardness between them as it was no longer welcome.

She stretched out on her bed a bit before glancing at her clock to check the time. Chizuru should have already been back by now. She frowned as she reached for her phone to send her a message to see if anything had happened to her. Even if asked she would bluntly deny any feelings towards her but she couldn't deny how concerned she was and even Orihime was beginning to catch on to her feelings but still didn't know who it was as names had yet to be said but it had been confirmed that Yasuko had passed on safely and she was now in Soul Society. This information had been given to Chizuru as well and she had been overjoyed on the news though it still caused her a couple of tears at the thought of her being gone.

Tatsuki sent the email and tossed her phone back on her bedside table before closing her eyes once more to try and get a bit of sleep to put her at a bit of ease. She let out a long sigh as she tried to relax but to no avail as she rolled over restlessly and opened her eyes to check the time once more. Her eyes went from the time to her phone next to her clock. It wasn't long before she rolled over to face the wall in her anger of not having Chizuru's number, whether cell phone or house phone.

Eventually she had managed to drift into a deep dreamless sleep. She only had a few hours rest before she woke up in a bit of a bad mood. A quick beeping signaled her alarm going off so she lazily reached over to shut it off but the beeping continued for another moment before it went off. It slowly began to register in her mind that it wasn't her alarm but her phone.

She groaned as she picked it up and answered it, "Hello?"

There was silence from the other line before she hung up and looked at her phone to try and find the number that called her but then she found it wasn't a phone call but an email. Her eyes widened and lost their tire as she checked it. A slight vain pulsed in her forehead as all it said was, *Hey*

Her anger raised a little as she replied, *Do you know what time it is right now?*

It wasn't too long before there was a reply, *Yeah, what's your point?*

Tatsuki groaned as she replied to it, *I was sleeping ('-.-)*

It was a bit longer this time before there was a response *Do you want to go back to sleep then?*

There's was bit of a pause before Tatsuki responds,*Nah, its fine*

This time it was almost immediate, *Can we talk?*

Tatsuki's anger rose a little more, *Isn't that what we're doing now?*

Again there was a bit of a pause, *I meant more in person*

Tatsuki yawned in her tire before sending a reply, *Can it wait until tomorrow?*

There's a bit of a pause before Chizuru responds *I've already snuck out of my house*

Tatsuki sighed figuring it would be easier to just cave as she was still really concerned about her, *Where are you?... I'll go meet you there*

*I'm at the river below the bridge, where you found me a couple weeks ago* Tatsuki sat straight up in fear before Chizuru messaged her again,*I wasn't planning on doing anything I just went out for a walk and ended up by the river so I went there since it was where you really began to feel like my friend. I thought it might help but it didn't*

Tatsuki fell back onto her bed with a relieved sigh, *Don't scare me like that, geez. I'll be there as soon as I can so don't go anywhere*

Tatsuki got out of bed, now fully awake, and crossed her room to her closet to get dressed. When she finished she glanced out her window as she debated bringing a sweater. She shrugged figuring she might as well and quickly pulled one on as she left her room. The trip downstairs was made as quietly as possible but she stopped at the kitchen and glanced in for a moment as she recalled the last time she was sneaking around her house at this hour of the night. She had been served soup by a ghost.

A small smile formed on her face at the memory only for it to vanish as she realized that this is what must be bugging Chizuru right now since she had just seen her cousin lying in a coffin the day before. Her heart sank as she hurried for the door to get her shoes on. It wasn't long before she was closing the door quietly and locking it before running down the street towards the river, once more recalling memories of Yasuko as doing this had led to her being served soup by a ghost.

She reached the river and went down the hill at a bit of a slower pace and found Chizuru almost immediately. Once more she was standing by the water and looking in it. Tatsuki stood there for a moment to calm her breathing before walking over and placing a hand on Chizuru's shoulder in an attempt at comforting her. Chizuru looked over and was met with a warm smile.

She returned it willingly, "Thanks for coming."

"No problem." Tatsuki said. "What's wrong?"

"I just can't stop thinking about it, the funeral, no matter how hard I try." Chizuru said. "I thought I'd be able to handle it but with everyone there talking about her it just brought back the fact that I'll never see her again. I know that she's moved on and she's in a better place but still it hurts to face the reality of it even if I've come to terms with it."

"It's always going to be hard to face these things even if you know everything you need to know about the spiritual world." Tatsuki said. "I'm even having a bit of a hard time with this. I know I hardly knew her and we only spent a few days together but that was enough for it to be difficult but with what I know about that stuff I know that everything worked out and that she's fine and that we'll be fine. Even if it takes some time everything works out in the end."

"Do you always know what to say?" Chizuru asked. "Or is someone telling you what to say again?"

"No one has to tell me what to say when it comes to you." Tatsuki said warmly. "I can work that out myself."

Chizuru smiled and fell silent as her gaze went back over the water. After awhile she spoke again, "I did what you wanted me to when I was there. I'm sure she'd think it was funny that you were using me to talk to her."

"Yeah, she would have laughed." Tatsuki said with a smile as she allowed her hand to fall away from Chizuru's shoulder. "Thanks for saying something for me."

"Anytime you need me to do anything just let me know." Chizuru said as they met eyes once more. "You can't be the only one giving in this friendship."

Tatsuki's smile faded a little at the word 'friendship' as she knew she no longer wanted that but had no idea how to even voice it. She had never been in this situation and had never let anyone finish their own confession so she had no idea what to even say so she would have to subtly encourage Chizuru to do it for her. The thought of doing it that way made her feel like she was a coward but she didn't want to make a fool out of herself and she figured that Chizuru had done it before anyways.

"You know, you never messaged me when you got back like I asked you to." Tatsuki said with a bit of aggravation.

"I know and I'm sorry but I completely forgot my charger and my phone died before I realized it because I was stuck with my family as soon as I got there." Chizuru said guiltily. "I would have used another phone to call you but I still don't have your number so I couldn't."

Tatsuki looked at her almost shocked at the sound of the sob in her throat. She immediately took Chizuru in her arms to try and banish it. Chizuru shed a couple of tears in her arms but no more then that as the firm embrace took away her pain. The two held each other for awhile before Tatsuki let go out of slight awkwardness but she did it fearfully as she feared what she would see in Chizuru's eyes but what she did find calmed her fear and made her smile; love.

A couple of days ago that look would have led to an awkward situation, a few days ago it would have been completely ignored, a couple weeks ago it would have gotten her a beating. Now it got her nothing but Tatsuki wanted to give this girl so much more then she probably even could. For now she just smiled warmly and held a strong blush that the dark of the night hid well enough for her.

"Are you feeling any better now?" Tatsuki asked.

"Yeah, I really owe you, Tatsuki." Chizuru replied with a smile.

"You do not." Tatsuki said. "That's not what this is about."

"Oh, and what is it about?" Chizuru asked.

Tatsuki just shrugged and said, "I can tell you that it's not about debts and owing the other or even about long overdue apologies."

Chizuru fell silent once more as Tatsuki glanced at her watch with a bit of a sigh, "It's getting pretty late."

"Time to go home, then?" Chizuru asked with a bit of an upset tone.

"Yeah, you want to spend the night at my place?" Tatsuki asked. "Before you get any ideas, its closer, safer, and this way you won't be getting in when your parents get up for work."

"There's no way I could do that." Chizuru protested immediately. "I don't have anything for school tomorrow and there is no way either of our parents will like it."

"Yeah, that's true but they won't know." Tatsuki said. "Last time I checked, my parents didn't check up on me in the mornings and I doubt your parents do that either. My parents will be gone by the time we leave anyways so you can easily hide out in my room until they're gone."

"It's still a no." Chizuru said.

A slight smirk formed on Tatsuki's face as she said, "I said that about going into your house a couple weeks ago and look where we are now."

Chizuru looked away quickly, "That was completely different."

"I don't see how." Tatsuki said without losing her smirk. "It's not like anything will happen."

"Yeah, of course not." Chizuru said immediately. "I don't like you in that way."

Even thought it was a lie and Tatsuki even knew that it was a little painful to hear and she almost wanted to voice her pain on the matter just like she wanted to take Chizuru in her arms and ask her to stay over once more but she was still nervous about how to go about it. All she knew was that she wanted to hold this girl in her arms and make her feel safe and wanted. Tatsuki wanted to protect her from the negativity that the way she was got her. She wanted to protect her from her mother as well even though their relationship would never be voiced to Chizuru's parents.

"Then why are you so nervous about spending the night?" Tatsuki asked. "It would be safer if you stayed at my place tonight and it would really put my mind at ease."

Chizuru looked over at her knowing she couldn't argue against this now. One thing she didn't want between them was unease, which made every awkward situation torture but she knew Tatsuki was catching on to her feelings but just not saying anything about it. She didn't know why Tatsuki was keeping quiet about it but she was a little grateful that she was able to enjoy their friendship a little while longer but the longer this went on the harder it would be to let go. Their bond would have to end soon.

"I guess I can then." Chizuru said with a sigh. "But only tonight."

"Sure," Tatsuki said with a shrug.

They shared a bit of a smile before they headed back up the hill and down the street in a bit of silence at first but questions circled Chizuru's mind on Tatsuki's actions, "Why do you have to be so persistent about this?"

"Because I worried about you enough this weekend since you never emailed me back." Tatsuki said firmly.

"My phone was dead." Chizuru argued.

"When you got back you could have plugged it into the wall and messaged me." Tatsuki countered. "And I doubt you got back into town this late. I know your parents are pretty important where they work and they would have been back at least a few hours before they normally go to bed."

Chizuru fell silent and looked away without a response or even an attempt. Tatsuki looked over at her with concern before letting out a sigh and continuing on without word as she feared revealing too much of her own emotions. It wasn't the right time for that and she knew it as well as she knew Chizuru's upset mood. Things were getting awkward again and she hated those moments but she had no clue what to do about them so she allowed them figuring that Chizuru was fine with them.

When they got to Tatsuki's house Chizuru was told to stay quiet before she was let inside. The two removed their shoes but Chizuru brought hers with her as they snuck upstairs so that they wouldn't be noticed by Tatsuki's parents in the morning. They got to Tatsuki's room and the light was turned on and Chizuru went to sit down on the bed.

Tatsuki went to her closet to find something for Chizuru to sleep in so they could go to bed right away. She found a few things and tossed it over to her before grabbing what she was in earlier to change into. As she pulled off her shirt she faintly noticed Chizuru's eyes on her but feigned ignorance for the sake of her embarrassment and another damned awkward moment.

When they finished the light went out and they went to bed in an inevitable awkwardness and a gap between them as they were each on the edge of the mattress since it was too late for Tatsuki to get the futon from the hallway closet and they each feared the depth of their feelings for the other and didn't want to risk a thing between them even though one of them knew the feeling was mutual.

They both found sleep eventually after a long silent awkwardness that neither was fond of but nothing could have been done without their feelings being announced and neither wanted to risk it. Tatsuki was too nervous and embarrassed to even bring it up while Chizuru feared getting rejected again. So nothing was said about it and nothing would be said until one of them got over their fear and said it to the other.