Heart and Soul — XXXIII
"Lookit, lookit!" Hisana chirped, holding out the picture she'd drawn.
"Oh, how cute!" Her mother said excitedly, taking the picture.
"Oh look at that, she draws better than you, Rukia." Her father piped up, earning him a slap over the head.
"Momma you shouldn't hit Daddy." Hisana admonished her mother seriously. "It's mine."
"Yes, thank you Hisana." Her father said triumphantly, shooting her mother a smirk. Her mother, in return, just raised an eyebrow before turning back to Hisana.
"Hisana how many cookies did he give you to say that?"
"Lots and lots!" Hisana said happily, holding her arms out on either side of her body. "He gave me 'dis many!"
"Oh did he now…"
"You're such a tattle-tale!" Her father groaned, and Hisana giggled. "Oh yeah? Well if you're gonna laugh…you might as well have something to actually laugh about!"
And with that her father launched himself at her, his fingers instantly reaching out to attack her stomach. "Nooooo!" Hisana screeched, laughing wildly. "Stop it, stop it, stop it! Momma heeeeelp!"
"Which one of you should I help?"
"Me, me, me!"
But her mother was laughing too hard to help…her father's fingers continued their attack on her belly without stopping…Hisana was laughing so hard she was crying…
And suddenly everything was very quiet. Her father's hands disappeared, and her mother stopped laughing. Hisana opened her eyes, but her father's face had disappeared from her view. "Daddy?" She sat up, looking around. "Momma?"
The room was empty. Hisana saw that her drawing was sitting on the ground in front of her, where she'd been coloring…but hadn't her mother been looking at it?
"Momma? Daddy?"
Hisana scrambled up, running into the halls, which were strangely empty. Where were Momo and Toushi, Nanao and Kyoraku-kun, Ukitake-san, Uncle Renji…
Where were Momma and Daddy?
"Momma! Daddy!"
Nobody answered. She was all alone…
Hisana's eyes fluttered as the dream fated and she began to wake up. She scrunched her face up unhappily. She didn't like that dream…
She sat up, rubbing her tiny fists against her eyes.
"Hey baby girl."
Hisana's head sat up, her face splitting into a large grin when she saw who was sitting on the bed next to her. "Daddy!"
She instantly launched herself at her father, wrapping her small arms around his neck and hugging him as tightly as she was capable of, burying her face in the space between his shoulder and neck. Her father chuckled as he returned her hug with as much enthusiasm. "Loosen it up a bit there Hisa-chan, I can't breathe." Hisana refused. "I'm sorry baby. Did I scare you."
Hisana nodded, feeling the tears begin to form in her eyes. "I thought you went away like Momma." She muttered, her voice muffled.
"No way." Her father said at once, raising a hand to run his finger's through Hisana's hair. "I'm not going anywhere Hisana. Promise."
Hisana sniffed as she pulled away to look at her father's face. "Pinky promise?" She asked in a way that was more of a demand, and her father smiled, raising up his other hand with his pinky out.
"Pinky promise."
They linked pinkies.
Summer wasn't surprised to see Hisana all but attached to Ichigo when the two came into the kitchen for food. She'd be surprised if the little girl let go of her father ever again. Of course, she was sure Ichigo wouldn't have a problem with that.
Which was why it came as a surprise when Ichigo said, "Hisana, I have to talk to Summer for a minute. Why don't you go find Momo and see what she's up to?"
Hisana's response was to tighten her grip on Ichigo's hand. Ichigo smiled a bit as he knelt down, resting both his hands on Hisana's slim shoulders. "I won't leave the caves. Don't worry about it."
Hisana stared at him wearily. "Pinky promise."
The two words made absolutely no sense to Summer, but obviously they meant something to Ichigo because he smiled. "I know I made a pinky promise. I'll come and find you real soon. Okay?"
"'Kay." Hisana relented at last. She paused for a minute to wave to Summer, then ran out of the kitchen.
Summer looked away as Ichigo sat down at the table across from Summer, focusing her eyes instead on the pantry area. He just wants to talk, Rukia reminded Summer.
He always just wants to talk. But somehow it keeps turning into something worse.
Give it a chance.
"I just wanted to say thanks again." Ichigo said, interrupting the internal conversation. "For taking care of Hisana, I mean. I guess that entire thing shook her up."
"Yeah." Summer murmured, rubbing her eyes. "I'm really sorry—"
"You don't have to keep apologizing." Ichigo cut her off. Summer instantly ducked her head, feeling her cheeks heat up. "Listen…this is going to sound like a really off-the-beat question, but give me a chance. Your Seeker…what did he look like?"
He was right; it was a pretty off-the-beat question. Why does he want to know?
There's always a method to Ichigo's madness. Just go with it.
Summer sighed. "He was…kinda tall, taller than—" Summer cut herself off, realizing that Ichigo may not react well to Summer referring to Rukia's body as her own, "as tall as you," she settled for saying finally. "And he had brown hair, it was kinda wavy and brown eyes—"
"And rectangular glasses?" Ichigo seemed unable to stop himself interrupting. Summer paused, blinking at Ichigo in surprise.
"I…how did you know?"
Ichigo ran a hand through his hair, looking a bit disturbed now. "He was one of the Seekers in the woods. With the way he was handing out orders, and everyone was reporting to him, I'd say he was the leader of the search."
Summer's entire body stiffened. Are you kidding me? Rukia hissed, sounding furious. How?
"I swear I didn't lead him hear," Summer was blurting out denials before she'd had a chance to process how bad it would make her look. She didn't care. She needed to make Ichigo believe her — somehow. "I would never lead any Seekers here, much less him, honest—"
She cut herself off when she saw that Ichigo was chuckling. Chuckling? You never mentioned he was mentally unsound, Summer said, alarmed.
"I know you're not lying," Ichigo said before Rukia could answer, "you're like Nanao, you can't lie. All you souls are really cut from the same mold, aren't you?"
"According to you I'm supposedly a Seeker." Summer pointed out. "Seekers can lie without a problem."
Wait why am I trying to convince him I'm lying?
My thoughts exactly.
"Seekers can lie." Ichigo agreed, surprisingly easily. "But you…I dunno. Something about you being a Seeker just doesn't click right with me. Honestly I…think I knew that all along. I just didn't want to face it. Didn't want to admit I was wrong."
Aw, poor boy, he had to admit he was wrong, Rukia muttered sarcastically. It must be so hard for him to realize he isn't all-seeing.
Summer grimaced. "What's with the look?" Ichigo asked, sounding confused.
"Just…something Rukia said." Ichigo laughed dryly.
"Let me guess, she made a crack about me not being able to admit I was wrong and that I'm not as all-seeing as she seems to think I believe myself to be."
Summer stared at Ichigo in disbelief. "You two know each other way too well." She said to both of them.
"Yeah…" Ichigo's eyes took on a strange, distant look. Summer instantly felt bad. They'd actually been getting along…kind of.
I wonder what made him change his mind, Summer pondered silently.
Ask him.
He won't tell me.
"Whatcha thinking 'bout?" Ichigo asked, snapping Summer back to reality. She thought carefully about the question pressing down on her mind, finally coming to a conclusion.
"Rukia…wants to know what made you…you know, change your mind."
To her surprise, Ichigo smiled faintly. "Liar. Rukia could care less."
Told you. Ya can't lie to save your life.
"Fine." Summer huffed, annoyed by both of them now. "I want to know. What's with the change of heart?"
Ichigo thought for a minute. "I don't know." He said finally. "I haven't seen any evidence to prove my suspicions one way or the other, and everyone else seems to trust you, and Hisana's getting attached…maybe a little too attached, I don't know anymore…" He shook his head. Summer wasn't quite sure what to say. She decided saying nothing was the safest bet. "I'm tired of everyone thinking I'm a jerk, at any rate. Obviously you're not going anywhere…might as well get used to you."
Now Summer turned her attention to Rukia. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
It's an Ichigo thing, was Rukia's annoyingly perplex answer.
"Um…" Summer and Ichigo turned to look at the kitchen entrance, and saw Hinamori standing there with Hisana, who was clutching the teen's pant leg with both her tiny hands. "She said you were taking too long." Hinamori said apologetically as Hisana released her in favor for running to her father and crawling into his laps.
"Sorry Hisa-chan." Ichigo said, kissing the top of Hisana's head and hugging her tightly. "Summer and I were just talking."
Hisana looked up at Ichigo with her large amber eyes. "Were you being nice to her?" She asked solemnly. Ichigo laughed a little.
"Yes, Hisana. I was being nice to her."
Hisana turned to Summer. "Was he?" She demanded. Summer couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"Yeah, he was. Don't worry about it Hisana."
Hisana's face split into a wide grin. Summer couldn't stop the weary feeling that washed over her in a large wave as Ichigo's words from just moments earlier came back to haunt her. Hisana's getting attached…maybe a little too attached…
What is this to her? Summer wondered, biting her lip. What am I to her? What did we do by coming here, Rukia?
We gave hope back to a little girl who'd lost almost everything, Rukia whispered, though she sounded unsure of herself.
"I have to go," Summer muttered, pushing herself up.
"Why?" Hisana piped up, sounding confused. "Is something wrong?"
"No. Nothing's wrong. Don't worry about it Hisana." The lie in her voice carried clear through the kitchen. She didn't give Hinamori or Ichigo a chance to call her on the lie before she rushed out of the room.
"Renji who am I?"
Renji caught the ball he'd been tossing around and looked over at Summer. So light were her steps, he hadn't heard her coming. But there she was, standing at the end of the hall he was currently sitting in, wearing a lost look that was completely out of face on Rukia's normally strong, confident face.
"Erm…" Renji wasn't quite sure how to answer that. "You're Never-Ending Summer?"
He could tell from the look on Summer's face that wasn't the right answer. "Okay, not what you wanted to hear…what's this about, anyways?"
Summer sighed, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. "It's just I…I don't really know."
Renji stared at her for a minute, then gestured a hand at the wall across from him, indicating for her to sit down. Summer hesitated for only a moment before moving to do as Renji said. "All right, what's going on?" Renji asked when Summer was settled in. He bounced the ball a couple times before tossing it to Summer, who caught it easily.
"It's just…Hisana." Summer sighed as she tossed it back. "Ichigo said she's…getting too attached — you know, to me. And the more I think about it, the more I realize…I don't know who she sees when she looks at me. Does she see her mother has somehow come back to her?" Renji didn't answer. "I don't…want to do that to her, Renji. She's just a little girl. I don't want to hurt her."
"She's three, she bounces back easy enough." Renji said, smirking as the bounce of the ball on the floor coincided with him saying the word bounces.
"It isn't fair." Summer argued unhappily. "I shouldn't have come here, it's just going to confuse her."
"Hisana is smarter than most of us give her credit for." Renji said easily. "She knows you're not her mother. You're Summer. To her, and to the rest of us."
Summer didn't answer. "You asked who you were." Renji said, catching the ball and resting it in his lap. "Well here it is. Your name is Never-Ending Summer. You're a soul who's travelled from world to world, trying to find a place where she belongs, a place you didn't think existed until you came here, to this one, green and blue rock in the middle of nowhere, and you came to this one, itty-bitty place in the middle of Japan and you found us. Then you became Summer, a soul in the middle of a human outpost, trying to fit yourself into that groove where you know you belong, but you just can't find it because you won't let yourself. Stop worrying so much Summer. Give yourself a chance, all right? You might be surprised at what you see."
"You don't know that." Summer muttered, looking away.
"Betcha I do." Renji said as he bounced the ball again. Summer looked just in time to catch it, and caught sight of Renji's smirk. "Seriously. Stop worrying about it, and you'll find you're a lot happier here. Promise."
Summer stared at Renji for a minute, eyebrow raised. "Pinky promise?"
Renji snorted, sensing Rukia's direction in that question. He remembered when they'd been little, and pinky promises had been as binding as contracts. Every promise they'd ever made to each other, every secret they'd ever sworn to keep, had ended with those two words: pinky promise?
"Yeah, Summer." He held out his hand, pinky up. "Pinky promise."
Summer almost smiled as she held her pinky out as well, hooking it with Renji's.
Author's Note: So I just kind of thought this chapter was cute…filler-ish, yes, but cute all the same. Review please? I'd really like to know what you thought of all this…please? — Sam