B A Y O – B A Y O :

Yay update! Only a week and a half later, just for you guys! Thanks so much for the reviews and comments—I really appreciate them! Really! I'm glad you all liked Hyourinmaru—I was worried about how people would react to how I made him. I'm glad they were positive! Now the group is finally out of the House of Horrors, AKA the Bounto Headquarters… but what happens next? The story is far from over! I can't believe I'm already on chapter twenty-one! And it's thanks to all of your support! Thank you so much—I never expected this story to be a success! You guys are the best!

Well, enough babble from me—read on and enjoy!

. F U R A R E T A .
… "love hurts"… a bleach fanfiction

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Furareta © b a y o – b a y o
Bleach © Kubo Tite

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CHAPTER T W E N T Y – O N E :
"Short-lived Freedom"

Opening Theme: "Colours of the Heart" by Uverworld

Daylight had never felt so good. The moment I had the first whiff of fresh, crisp, clean air, all of my past trials seemed worth the trouble. Of course, I actually thought it wasn't (I wouldn't have had to endure trials and tribulation if I hadn't gone into the house in the first place), but that was how good it felt to be out of that stupid place—it was so good to be free. To not have to worry about someone watching your every move, to not have to worry about a Hollow waiting in the shadows to devour you; it was a very good feeling. And I embraced it mentally and physically with every ounce of myself.

I was still alive and breathing now, thanks to my handful of very unusual friends.

"Hitsugaya-kun! I can't believe you let yourself get hurt like this—look at all these wounds! Burns, cuts, bruises, scars—what have you been doing all this time? I thought you were responsible!" Momo's voice was like a flood of endless worry and subtle reprimand for a very irritated Toushirou. Looking over my shoulder to the two, I found myself grinning. I had just met Hinamori Momo, but I already loved her. Kind, compassionate, cheerful and mature—she was like another angel from above. It made me wonder if Shinigami were actually angels in disguise.

Toushirou swatted her concerned hands away from him, scowling. "Would you knock it off?! I said I'm fine! Why are you here, anyway? You should be resting!" he shouted.

Momo's cheeks puffed in an adorable way. "I come to help you and this is what I get? You're horrible, Hitsugaya-kun!"

"Shut up! And it's Hitsugaya-taichou to you!"

There was absolutely no hint of genuine malice in their little squabble, thankfully. Goes to show how close they really were. I managed to get out of Rangiku that Toushirou and Momo grew up together in Rukongai before they became Shinigami. They were best friends (and still are, I think, despite the scene behind me), and looked out for each other like none other. Momo is also the lieutenant of Squad 5, which means that she must be pretty strong—on the same level as Rangiku, maybe? Not that I've actually seen her fight… although I could guess that she packed a pretty good punch.

"Nagasuki-chan, has he been acting like this to you all the time he was here?" Momo asked, a little annoyed. "I'm sorry—despite his element, he tends to 'lose his cool' all the time…" She ignored the vicious glower aimed at the side of her head.

"Please, call me Megumi," I grinned sheepishly. "And don't worry about it—I sure deserve it. He's saved my life so many times anyway!" Toushirou glanced at me expressionlessly. "Although I would like it if he loosened up sometimes—he's way too stern for his own good. How old are you supposed to be anyway, Toushirou? Thirteen? Fourteen?"

"Shut up—"

"She's right, Hitsugaya-kun! You're way too mature!" Momo piped, talking as if she were speaking to a child. "You should act more your age sometimes!"

"That's what Matsumoto does all the time," he retorted, "and look how she is!"

Rangiku stirred beside me. "Hey! That hurt, taichou!"

He scoffed, unaffected by her dramatic tears. "The truth does that sometimes…"

I tuned out another addition to the squabbles and jogged up to the rest of the group. Urahara, Jinta, Ururu, and Tessai were conversing among themselves ahead. With a childish grin I leaped onto the back of Tessai. As always, he didn't stumble; instead, he looped an arm around my waist and positioned me on his humongous shoulder. I perched comfortably on it. "How are you feeling, Megumi?" he asked, glasses glinting beneath the setting sun.

"Give me some food and I'll be perfect," I said with a large grin. Come to think of it, I haven't eaten at all since I stupidly ventured into the House of Horrors. "How long have I been in there, anyway?"

"Too long," Jinta responded bluntly.

"Agreed," Ururu added.

"About… two or three days? At midnight it will be… two days," Urahara calculated, counting his slender fingers. My jaw hung. Had it really been that long? "I must admit, I'll never look at those haunted houses the same way again. Who knew the most popular one in all of Japan would be the headquarters for Bounto? Yes, indeed, I'll never look at them the same way…" His voice drifted, lost in thought. "Anyway, we'll get some food into everyone back at my shop. Tessai's food is scrumptious, as you well know."

I knew that all too well. Tessai makes the best food ever!

"Shouldn't you be contacting your folks about now, Megu? I could imagine that they're worried after your ominous disappearance."

I almost fell off Tessai's shoulder. I completely forgot about my folks. "Oh man, Takuya-oji's going to ground me! And Metsuki—she'll be ticked! I should've called them or something! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Suddenly an idea sprang to mind and I dug into my pockets. I wouldn't be surprised if it was broken, but it was better than nothing… "I'll use my phone—"

"Taichou?!"

"Hitsugaya-kun, what's wrong?!"

I almost stumbled again as the sudden exclamation met my ears. Immediately forgetting about my phone I spun to see Momo and Rangiku balancing a collapsed Toushirou in their surprised arms. He wasn't unconscious, but the pained look on his face was piercing. I suddenly felt my own limbs ache. "Toushirou?!" I yelped, leaping off my perch. I fell to my knees in front of his fallen form, trying not to sound more concerned than I should be.

He winced. I noticed why when I saw blood darkening the bandages on his chest. "You're bleeding," I murmured, reaching out to him.

He wearily slapped my hand away. "It's nothing," he gritted his teeth, shoving off Momo and Rangiku. He stood to a pair of dangerously shaky legs. "I'm just a little…" He winced again and his knees gave out beneath him.

He fainted.

I squeaked in surprise as I suddenly felt his weight falling onto me and I struggled to keep us from tumbling over. To my surprise, he was much lighter than he looked. "Toushirou?" I asked worriedly, trying to focus on his health more than his very close proximity. I fought back a very potent blush.

I heard Urahara beside me, examining him. "He's exhausted," he noted. A small smirk from him to me made me stiffen. I didn't like that look. "Rangiku-san, can you go get Orihime?"

"Right." Rangiku cast one worried glance at her captain before flash stepping away.

"And Hinamori," Urahara said, motioning Tessai over. "My shop is just down the path. Go inside and set up a futon for him, please. Jinta, Ururu, go with her."

"Of course," the girl said. The three disappeared down the path.

"What happened to him?" I asked as Tessai lifted Toushirou from me. He gently cradled him in his arms as if he were a sleeping child. "Was this because he fought Yasuo?"

"I can't imagine who else he would have gotten those wounds from," Urahara said thoughtfully. "But we'll talk about that later once everyone is rested and assembled."

I nodded, subconsciously wandering close to Tessai. There was no hiding the worried look on my face. I had never seen Toushirou so beat up before; all covered in bandages and bleeding. He was a captain. He was strong. Yet he had been defeated by Yasuo? There were burns I could see lingering around his chest, so I assumed that Yasuo had fire-related abilities. Toushirou was all about ice… so there was a big disadvantage on his part. "Toushirou…" I murmured very quietly, brushing his tress of bangs from his struggling face. I watched him for a few seconds and almost smiled. Even when beat up and unconscious, he was still unbelievably beautiful.

"Nagasuki." His voice was very soft and forced; I didn't realize he wasn't completely gone. Or maybe he just woke up. Well, either way, I turned cherry red and retracted my fingers from his face. Hopefully he wasn't all the way there to notice my touch.

"D-Don't talk," I managed to say. "You need to rest."

"She's right, Hitsugaya-taichou," Urahara piped next to me. "You can talk later. You're in no condition to be doing anything else but sleeping."

Of course he ignored us. "She says she's sorry," he whispered, wrenching open his teal eyes towards me, "and goodbye."

We held eye contact for a moment. When he realized that I finally knew what he meant, he closed his eyes and played dead again. I pursed my lips and looked down.

My suspicions were right. Riana was gone. I had been mentally prepared for the news, but I didn't expect it to hurt as bad. I hid my tearing eyes from Urahara and Tessai's curious glances.

When we came upon Urahara's shop, we hurried inside. By the little living room in the house part of the shop was a smaller room—presumably Jinta or Ururu's room. Inside Momo was there with the kids, waiting by a waiting and ready futon for Toushirou. I stood by the doorway as Tessai gently placed Toushirou on the bed, and walked out when I saw his expression twist in pain at the movement of his limbs. He had been walking and talking fine when we got out of the mansion; why did he suddenly fall over?

I sat at the little round table and laid my cheek against the cold surface. Just minutes ago I was bouncing around, exhilarated because of my freedom; but it was so suddenly and so easily shot down. Toushirou was more hurt than any of us realized. My best friend was gone. Couldn't my happiness have lasted throughout the night, at least?

"He'll be fine once Orihime gets here," Kisuke mentioned as he strolled out of the room. "What's wrong, Megu? Are you hurt?"

I didn't realize that I had been crying. I quickly wiped my tears on my sleeve. "I'm fine, just a little more tired than I thought…" I forced a grin. "How is he?"

"He's a fast healer," Momo said, plopping down next to me.

"Kisuke!" It was Rangiku's voice. Not a second after the call the orange-haired beauty appeared in the room, lugging behind her a worried and somewhat confused girl. I'm guessing that one was Orihime; for some reason, besides the orange hair, she resembled Rangiku a lot. "Where's taichou?"

Kisuke pointed towards the bedroom, and offered a hand to me. "Orihime's a human like you, Megu. She has special powers though; would you like to see?"

That definitely perked my interest. I took his hand and he led me in after the carrot-topped duo. Rangiku stood by a kneeling Orihime, who had her hands hovering above Toushirou's broken body. My eyes widened in curiosity as she whispered something under her breath—it sounded like an incantation—and a human-sized sparkling golden pod covered him. "What happened to him?" her sweet, soft voice asked with genuine concern. "The last time I saw Toushirou-kun hurt like this was…"

My pained expression only deepened. He had been in this state before? I glanced up at Kisuke. He smiled back reassuringly at me. "Later," he promised. With a frown, I nodded.

I left his side and kneeled next to Orihime, watching to see what she was doing. She's a human, like me; but I've never seen humans doing this sort of thing—whatever she was doing. With a curious and amazed expression I watched as the leaking blood seemed to disappear little by little, and I knew what she was doing. Orihime was a healer. "That's amazing," I murmured, glancing at Orihime. She looked only a little older than I was—in high school, maybe?

She grinned modestly at me. "I'm just rejecting that this ever happened. It's sort of like… erasing his injuries. Not exactly 'healing' him, but taking his wounds away," she explained. Her smile widened, causing me to smile back—she's so cute. "What's your name? I'm Inoue Orihime."

"Nagasuki Megumi," I responded. "Nice to meet you!"

She nodded cheerfully. "There," she said, cutting off the shield.

My eyes traveled over Toushirou's body; and sure enough, the injuries were no more. It was as if he were never hurt in the first place. That was awesome. "He's sleeping now," Orihime said, standing. "He should be fine in the morning."

"Thank you, Orihime," Kisuke said. "You're a jewel."

"It's nothing really," the girl laughed sheepishly, waving her hands. "But… what happened to him? I didn't even know he and Rangiku were here until Rangiku appeared on my doorstep."

"Yamamoto-soutaichou didn't want to involve the ryoka this time," Rangiku said, leaning against the wall next to the futon. Her eyes wandered to her resting captain. "But seeing as we're dealing with much stronger opponents, we may have to…"

"And Kuchiki-san? Is she a part of this too?" Orihime asked.

"No," she responded. "It was just me and taichou."

I tuned out their talk and focused on Toushirou's now peaceful expression. I would've been completely lost if I continued to listen to them anyway. My chin rested on my arms on the edge of the bed. His wounds really were gone—not a scratch was seen. His breathing was controlled and regulated, no longer straining. So humans were capable of doing amazing things too; I wonder if I have some superpower like Orihime had? Maybe then I wouldn't be so useless all the time…

"I could imagine how exhausted everyone is," Kisuke said, gathering everyone's attention. "How about we eat some dinner? Some of us haven't eaten in days, and I believe Tessai's almost finished preparing our meal!"

I lingered behind for a few seconds as everyone else wandered into the other room. My eyes were trained on Toushirou and I smiled. "Sweet dreams," I murmured.

I stood up and followed the rest of the group.

It was close to midnight by the time I had gotten home. I didn't plan on staying long at Urahara's, but time just seemed to pass by like a blur. It was as dark as pitch once I stepped foot outside, but I had gotten used to it since my risky endeavors in the House of Horrors were even darker; but even still, I was overjoyed when Momo had volunteered to walk me home. She was such a sweet girl. She was talkative too; it was enough to keep my mouth shut, anyway. I felt bad; I wasn't exactly listening. Not that I was trying to be rude—my mind was occupied with something else.

And it had started bugging me since dinner.

Now that I was surrounded by scenery I was used to, it was only a matter of time until I adjusted and started thinking about what was going to happen next. It had only been two days since the House of Horrors, but it felt like much, much longer; and for some reason, it felt like this was only the first wave of something even more disastrous. It was a discouraging thought, but I knew it had to be true; anything was, now. From ghosts to monsters, and from vampires to Shinigami… this really was a twisted world.

And not only that, but now my family—or rather, my mom—was involved with Yasuo's ploy, whatever that happened to be. I'm sure that it was diabolical. But I don't understand how she could be involved… what could have possessed her to make friends or enemies with a Bounto? I didn't understand at all, and no one else did—other than one person.

Takuya-oji.

I was going to have to question him soon; either tonight or tomorrow. He's my mom's brother, so I'm sure he'd know more about her personal life than he told me; but I wasn't sure how I was going to pry into my mother's life without seeming suspicious, especially now. Tonight would probably be the best time, if I was going to go through with it at all. If midnight would be two days since my birthday, that would mean tomorrow was Monday which meant… school. Ugh.

"Is this your house, Megumi?"

I was abruptly pulled from my thoughts by Momo's voice. We were here already, and I didn't even put decent words together to tell Takuya… this was going to be fun. I smiled at my escort. "Yeah, this is it. Thanks for walking me, Momo! Will you make it back all right?"

She grinned knowingly. "Of course! I'm stronger than I look, you know!" she declared with adorable pride, her fists on her hips. "You must be tired. Get a lot of rest, okay? I'll see you later! Good night!" And with that, she flash stepped away.

I took a deep breath on the porch. The lights were still on, which meant that he was still awake. Metsuki never stays up this late, so I would be able to talk to him without any interruptions. I rubbed my sweaty palms on my skirt. Ugh, why was I so nervous? I reached into the lantern-porch light hanging next to the door for the extra house key, and inconspicuously let myself in. I saw the navy-haired head of my uncle plopped in his favorite chair in the living room.

Here goes.

"That you, Megumi-chan?" I heard him ask, glancing over his shoulder. I smiled awkwardly in response. "Did you have fun? Must've been the longest birthday of your life." I grimaced. Tell me about it. "Two nights at Rangiku's house—must've been an adventure."

"You met Rangiku?" I asked, kicking off my shoes and wandering to where he was. Now I knew that I hadn't suddenly disappeared in his mind; thankfully, Rangiku provided an excuse for my absence.

"Yeah, she called Halloween night. Seems pretty nice," Takuya responded, glancing at me. He had been watching a soccer game, as always. He raised a brow after scrutinizing me. "You look exhausted."

"Rangiku sure knows how to throw a party," I said sheepishly, grinning. I glanced at the clock—it was a little past midnight. "Hey, Takuya-oji, I know it's a little late but… can we talk for a little bit?"

That definitely made him wary. Whenever I asked him to talk, he knew that it would consist of me telling him something he didn't want to know, asking him something I know he'd say no to, or touch on something important. He wasn't exactly the type to be able to sit still and have a sophisticated conversation with… "Sure, Megumi-chan. What's up?" He tried to sound casual as he flipped off the TV and leaned back in his chair. "I'm all ears."

I sat on the couch, gathering my words and subconsciously holding my breath. Whatever I did, I couldn't mention anything about Bounto or Shinigami… but then again, this wasn't going to go anywhere otherwise… ugh, oh well. Whatever is blurted is blurted. "First, can you promise me something?"

"I'm a man of my word," he assured me.

"You can't mention what we're going to talk about to anyone—not even Metsuki."

"Promise," he said, growing uneasy.

"Loosen up, Takuya-oji," I giggled. "It's nothing bad." I think. His shoulders relaxed. "I was just… wondering about Mom."

He stared at me for a few seconds. "Oh, okay. What about your mom?"

"Um." Okay, what next? "How was her… uh… personal life? Like before she met Dad? Did she have any other… boyfriends?"

His ears perked at the word 'boyfriend', and I immediately caught my mistake. Oh no… "You're worried about boyfriends?" he asked, his voice a pitch higher. "Who is it, Megumi-chan? Do I know him?!"

I wanted to slap myself. "No, Takuya-oji, that's not what I—"

"Hmm… is it that new kid? That gangster with the bleached hair? Rangiku's brother?!" My eyes widened. Gangster with the bleached hair…? I bit back an abrupt chortle. Takuya-oji took my surprised silence as confirmation. Me and my dumb actions… "Definitely not, Megumi-chan! He looks dangerous! And I'm sure he's not your type… and you're so young! You have your whole life to date! Why not wait until you're thirty?!"

I rolled my eyes. "You're over-assuming things, uncle—seriously, I'm not looking for some guy! And I could care less about Toushirou, especially in that way!" Okay, that was a lie, but I couldn't let him keep prattling. I had to turn away from him so he wouldn't identify my pathetic lie. "I'm talking about Mom! Don't sprout gray hairs over nothing!"

"But Megumi-chan…"

I lifted my brow, daring him to continue complaining. He sighed. "Well, now that that's over with," I said, crossing my arms. "Back to my question earlier…"

"Why are you so interested so late at night anyway?" Takuya sighed, stretching himself across his chair. He stole a look at the clock. "It's past midnight. I think your bed's calling you."

I pouted. He was right and I was downright exhausted, but my curiosity would keep me awake all night. "I'm fine," I insisted, stifling a yawn.

"You know you don't function well without enough sleep—and don't expect me to let you play hooky tomorrow—err, today," he continued, lifting a brow. He scrutinized my face once more. "You're going to look like a panda in the morning if you keep this up. Go to bed, Megumi-chan—we can talk tomorrow. How's that?"

"But oji…" This is important, I wanted to tell him. He was right, I wasn't even functioning right now; how would I ask him about Mom without bringing up Toushirou and Yasuo directly? If there was anyone that knew the inside and outside of Mom well, it would be Takuya-oji and Dad—but Dad was dead, so my uncle was the only bet. I nibbled my lip out of nervous habit. "Fine. But can you just tell me if Mom dated anyone before Dad?"

He sighed again, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what suddenly got you so interested," he started. "But since you're so bent on delving… she had only one relationship before your father. His name slips my mind, but his surname was… uh… Kai? No, no, let's see… Dei…"

"Daijiro?" I asked hopefully.

Takuya glanced at me in surprise. "That's it. How did you…?"

"That's all I needed to know. Thanks, Uncle! Good night!"

Before he could press I scurried up my stairs, shut my door, and tackled my bed. It felt so good to be able to rest on something decent again. But despite how late it was and how exhausted my body was, my eyes wouldn't shut. The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall together. Mom and Yasuo dated before she married Dad… that would explain why Yasuo talked so delicately about her. And when she left him for Dad, he was still infatuated so he collected newsprints about her. Now that she's gone, he's moved on to her one descendent—me. But what did he mean that my blood was his cure?

I shivered, hugging my pillow closer to my throbbing heart.

I had my suspicions, but I won't be thinking about them until I was in the company of some sane people—like Toushirou and Kisuke. Right now what I should be concerned with is school. I glanced at my backpack plopped on the floor, and realized that I had a quiz in Biology in the morning.

I sighed.

Ending Theme: "Konna ni Chikaku de" by Crystal Kay

A/N: And that's chapter 21! I hope you liked it! Orihime enters the scene! Is she the first of many others? Read and review to find out! What will happen next? Megumi's starting to put the puzzle pieces together, and so are some of you reviewers! There will be many surprising things yet to be revealed, so stay tuned!

Special thanks to:

TideDrop, DarkShadowMuffin, UchihaFanGirl, moogle in paradaisu, MoonStarBeam, CinnamonStar, erina destiny, glamouredFaErIe, WeHoldTheseTruths, luca4ever, ih o w a l o n, Uchiha Sasha, Mei Fire, Seeking-Truth-Darkness, joster13, Sakiru Yume, Yorukirin, nonday, English-X-Rose, Talye Kendrin, NeferNeferi, Michiko75, Shanni-chan, iiTs a Fantasy, Death-God-777, KousukeAsazuki, demogirl193, RyuseiStreamGirl, Skylite, Tateno Atsukino, TheKingJingles, Akiko Rivers, InWonderlandx, invisible-gurl, kiki--, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I'm really so honored that so many people enjoy my story. So far I have 100 alerts and 100 faves! I'm so happy! You guys are the best!

-- bayo – bayo, signing out!