I'm back already! I'm pretty excited that my story's going somewhere, and I've been in this...creative writing mojo for the last few days. So I'll probably be updating a lot this week! :P Yays! Ha ha.

Okay, sorry, here you go. Enjoy chapter 12!

Mina's POV:

Two weeks went by and Rukia and Renji didn't come back. I spent most of my free time with Ichigo, getting to know him a lot better. Even though we spent a ton of time together, he didn't open up much. He seemed too upset about Rukia being gone for so long. I understood, I missed Renji too, but definitely not as much as Ichigo missed Rukia.

Rukia never reported to Ichigo about how her brother was doing, she always left that up to Renji. In fact, Rukia and Ichigo didn't talk at all while they were gone, which only made Ichigo's depression worsen. But apparently Byakuya-sans condition fluctuated. He'd be in a horrible state one day and look better the next, only to worsen again. Things didn't look particularly great for him and everyone seemed positive that he wasn't going to make it except for Ichigo. He knew what her brother's death would do to Rukia and refused to believe anything was going to happen. Rukia was said to have been behaving the same way.

At the end of the two weeks Rukia and Renji finally arrived. It was unexpected. Ichigo and I returned to his house after school like we had gotten accustomed to. As we entered his room we saw the petite woman laying on the neatly made bed and the tall redhead sitting at the desk, leaning back in the chair.

I immediately looked up at Ichigo to see his reaction. His eyebrows rose as soon as he laid eyes on Rukia's still form on his bed, a smile making it's way onto his face. The first real smile he had mustered up since his beloved Rukia had left.

"Rukia?" he asked, his voice giving away his excitement.

She lifted her head from her thin, crosses arms and peered up at him, a warm smile crossing her previously blank features. "Hey, Ichigo," she responded, holding a hand out to him tiredly. He crossed the room and sat on the bed next to her, placing an understanding hand on her back as she tightly grabbed his hand. They didn't seem to notice me or Renji anymore as they talked quietly, their faces mere inches away from each others'.

I took the chance to step closer to Renji, smiling at him warmly. He returned the gesture, the dark circles under his eyes standing out now. He grabbed my arm and pulled me closer abruptly, surprising me. Though we had technically been dating for two weeks, we'd only spent ten minutes of those weeks together, so I didn't expect him to be so quick to hug me the way he had. He wrapped his strong arms around my waist and laid his head against my stomach, closing his eyes. He let out a deep sigh, sounding content.

I rested a hand on his shoulder and absently ran my hand through his ponytail. "Hello to you, too," I said. He only nodded a response. "What's wrong, are you okay?" I asked, worried.

"Yeah, just tired. I haven't gotten much sleep since we left, that's all," he answered.

"How's Byakuya-san?" I questioned, noticing his tattooed brows creasing slightly, forming a mild frown.

"We're not sure. He's still getting better and then getting worse," he said.

I nodded, feeling a frown find it's way on my face as well. "How long are you guys staying now?"

"Until we get another message saying he's gotten worse and we need to be there. It just depends, it could be days or weeks," he answered.

"Well," I started, leaning closer to Renji's face, surprising him. I continued, my parted lips brushing against his ear. "Do you think he's gonna make it?"

Renji cleared his throat, his face feeling warm against mine, before answering. "Honestly, no. I don't."

I nodded and started to pull away. Renji stopped me when my face was inches from him causing my eyebrows to raise. He only smiled and kissed me lightly. After departing he rested his forehead against mine and closed his eyes again. I smiled, pleasantly surprised with his childish actions. I carefully pulled my head away, stood up straight, and allowed him to rest his head against my stomach again.

"I missed you, Renji,"I said absently, realizing that Rukia and Ichigo were still lost in their conversation to even notice us. Rukia was currently running a hand through Ichigo's orange spikes, laughing, seeming to tease him about something. Ichigo was smiling back at her widely, his face still inches from hers.

"I missed you, too," he responded quietly. I noticed him starting to fall asleep and helped him stand up.

"Ichigo," I said, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. He looked up at me, seeming distracted. "Is it alright if Renji sleeps on the couch?" I asked. He only nodded and returned his attention to the petite shinigami in front of him.

I aided Renji down the stairs and got a blanket while he laid down on the sofa, resting on his stomach with his face buried in a pillow. By the time I returned to the living room he was asleep, breathing deeply. I smiled widely and covered him up, not able to cover up his legs from the shins down. I carefully pulled his hair out of it's ponytail, surprised by how long it was as it spilled over his shoulders. Brushing hair off his brow, I kissed his forehead before sitting down next to the couch, not wanting to interrupt Ichigo and Rukia's reunion.

I decided to do my homework while everyone was busy and soon realized that I had left my school bag in Ichigo's bedroom. I ascended the stairs, slowly walking around the corner to peer into the room. I had forgotten to shut the door and apparently the pair hadn't noticed. As I looked into the open doorway I saw that the two had switched positions, Ichigo laying down with his head in Rukia's lap, fast asleep. He had complained about having trouble sleeping since Rukia had left, so I imagined having her home made him relieved and tired. Rukia was leaning closer to him, her hand still running through his hair, as she kissed his forehead carefully. When she pulled away, still not noticing my presence, she smiled at him warmly and continued to play with the orange spikes of his messy hair.

I smiled and stepped back, only to walk forward and enter the room, acting as if I had just gone up the stairs. "Hey, Rukia," I said, smiling at her. She smiled back and held a delicately pointed finger against pursed lips.

"Hello, Mina," she whispered. "How have you been?"

"Okay, thank you. How about you?"

She shrugged. "Alright, thanks. It's been a long two weeks, that's for sure."

"I bet," I said, absently pushing a strand of curly brown hair behind my ear. "So, you missed him, huh?" I asked, my smile widening.

She allowed her smile to widen also, absently brushing her fingers over the skin of Ichigo's face, and nodding. "Yeah," she said simply. She didn't seem ashamed of her feelings at all, like Ichigo seemed to be. But she was probably more convinced I wasn't going to say anything than Ichigo was. "You missed Renji, too, right?" she questioned me happily.

"Yep," I answered just as simply as she had. We were quiet for a few minutes as she continued to lightly trace Ichigo's jawline. I decided to leave them alone, grabbing my bag, waving bye to Rukia, and returning downstairs. I patted Renji's face lightly before sitting back down and starting my homework, unable to get the smile off my face.

It's great to finally have Rukia and Renji back. As for Byakuya...all we can do is wait.

By that point, I still hadn't known what would happen if Byakuya-san did pass away. The consequence that would cause an immense amount of problems between the four of us.

Okay, that's it. I'm sorry it's still kind of filled with IchiRuki fluff and not so much RenjMin, but I promise that will happen more often soon enough! :D And I apologize that this chapter doesn't have much going on, but I wanted to update and these chapters are important, so yeah....sorry. :) Hope you enjoyed anyway! :D See you later!