I do not own Bleach.
Song: It's a Beautiful Day, by Michael Bublé

~weeks later: Naomi~

Naomi hummed as she walked down the road. She was taking her time getting to school. She was already pending two suspensions for beating up other students. The first was the girl who was always flirting with Jushiro, she wanted to let her know he was her's and no one else could have him. The second was a boy who always tried to prank her, she pranked him back with honey, feathers and a brick. Naomi smiled remembering the boy's crying face and the girl's nose cast the next day.

Nothing could ruin her mood right now. It was a beautiful day out, and Jushiro said he would be visiting her today. She couldn't wait to see him. It had been almost a week since she had last heard from him.

"It's a beautiful day and I can't stop myself from smiling...if we're drinking then I'm buying...and I know there's no denying-" Naomi stopped singing when she felt a strange shift. She looked around herself curiously. When did it get so quiet?

She looked around the corner and saw no one. She walked further down the road and saw people lying on the ground. She walked over to someone and shook her shoulder to try and wake her. "Excuse me?" No response, but she was definitely breathing.

"What is going on?" She walked to the end of the road and looked around. Everyone she saw was laying on the ground. "What the heck?" She spun around but saw nothing, till something caught her eye. A little girl running towards her, she looked scared.

Naomi ran up to the girl and wrapped her arms around her. "It's okay. It's okay. Your safe nothing is going to harm you." She was kneeling in front of the girl, she still only came up to her chin. "Everything is alright."

"The monsters are going to get us!" Naomi frowned at the girl's words. Naomi looked puzzlingly at the girl as she saw a chain attached to her chest. "We have to run!"

Naomi picked the girl up and looked around. She caught sight of a trash can being crushed. 'Not that way.' She turned and ran in the opposite direction. She was a little disappointed with her speed, but it was better than nothing and she seemed to be faster than the monster. 'Must be a Hollow.'

"Look out!" Naomi looked towards the direction the girl was pointing. She could just make out a shimmering outline. She dodged one outline, but she missed another attack that followed the first.

"Gah!" Naomi felt it's hands rip through her left leg. She looked down and was glad to see it was still attached, but she could see bone. "Can you run?" She set the girl down and looked her in the eye, she nodded. "Good. Then run and don't look back." She watched as the girl ran, while keeping an eye on the shimmering outline.

She stood on her right leg to take all of the weight off of her left, she could barely stay conscious through the pain. She watched as all of the Hollows began moving closer to her. 'So much for staying alive.'

She closed her eyes and waited for the Hollows to attack, but they never did. She opened her eyes to see what was going on, she saw them...suffocating? 'What the-' suddenly the pressure that she had thought was normal increased dramatically. She fell to her knees and didn't notice the pain from her leg. She saw some of the Hollows disappear from the substantial pressure.

'I'm going to die. This is going to crush me.' She fell down and laid on the pavement. She couldn't move, but she could hear something like footsteps getting closer from behind her.

"If ya get any closer she's gonna turn inta a pancake." Naomi didn't know who was speaking, she had never heard him before.

"I'm just curious as to why there were Hollows near her." Naomi could have vomited from the sound of his voice. His was worse to her than the girls at school. "How interesting. I do not sense anything from her, yet the Hollows seemed interested."

'Can't...breath.' Naomi couldn't even gasp for air. It felt like something was filling her lungs, and she couldn't do anything about it. She felt something run down her cheek as her sight faded into black. 'I'm sorry...Jushiro.'

~Jushiro~

Jushiro sat at his desk and filled out paperwork. He didn't notice the worried looks from his subordinates. Nor that he hadn't left the office in since he had been cleared from the hospital, for his chest wound from the war, yesterday. He hadn't even bothered to shower, just tied his hair back.

"Um...Taichou?" Jushiro looked up to see Kuchiki Rukia standing in the doorway. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just fine." Jushiro returned to the paperwork on his desk.

Rukia walked up to his desk and laid a hand on his. "You should take a break. You've been working none stop for a day now. Weren't you planning on going to Katsumoto-san's funeral today?" She hoped he wouldn't break down like he did when he had heard about Naomi's death.

Jushiro stopped and stared at the paper. He didn't even know what it was for. He wasn't paying much attention to what he was doing nowadays. He was too heart broken. Naomi had been in the area that Soul Society had transferred to to outskirts of the Rukongai. And she had been in a path that Aizen had taken through the town. He had crushed her with his reiatsu.

Jushiro placed his head on his desk, and not to gently but he didn't care. It didn't compare to the pain his heart was going through. "I don't know if I can. I don't think I can survive if I accept that she's gone." He felt tears run off his face, causing his few loose hairs to stick to his face.

"I'm sure she would want you to keep going, and that she would want you to be happy. At least, that's what everyone else is saying that she would say. Most of the Taichous and Fukutaichous are going." Rukia didn't want to pressure her Taichou to go, but she wanted him to at least get out of the office.

Jushiro sighed and tried to blow his hair out of his face. He lifted his head and pushed the wet strands away from his face. "You're right. I should go. I'm not the only one hurt by her death." He got up and walked to his barrack to change, and bathe. He smelled a bit on the funky side.

He stepped out of his barrack in a fresh uniform and nearly ran into Shunsui. His friend was also dressed in his usual attire, but had one of his less vibrant pink kimonos on with a sad smile on his face. "It's good to see you aren't moping as much as I thought." Both men noted the red rimed eyes the other one had.

Jushiro hugged his friend and cried softly. "Why did I have to promise I would visit? She always takes the longer path to school when I say I am going to visit. That path was the one she was found on. It's my fault...my fault." He spoke into his friend's shoulder as he cried.

Shunsui hugged his friend back, he had never seen him so broken before. "It's not your fault, it's Aizen's. She had no reiatsu and he had no reason to approach her. He only walked up to her then turn back and walked down a different street. It's his fault and his alone."

Both men stood as they both let their tears leak out of their eyes. Both had lost someone precious to them.

Jushiro pulled away from his friend and wiped his eyes. "We should go." He shunpoed to the Senkaimon with Shunsui following behind him. He looked up at the sunny sky and sighed. No amount of sunshine could lift his grey mood, or erase the indigo eyes from behind his eyelids.

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