A/N I'd like to thank
The Real Mad Hatter
girlX901
Mariliisa
imnotinsane13
rosewhip889
Amaya chibi-chan
TheInflictedFinger
CaramelTromboneGirl
0o Grimmjow Schiffer o0
gnarley-
Sun-in-the-Sky
for reviewing! You guys rock!! :D I feel so proud of myself, updating again. :3 I missed my computer. And in noticed some new reviewers! =D That makes me so gosh darn happy!! I hope you keep reviewing! And now, the story!!! And it is February forth!! :D Don't know why I'm happy, but I am. And another chap-i-tor. :3
Shun looked inside the bag, wondering if she forgot anything. Shrugging, she grabbed the bag, and put it on, thinking it felt better to carry stuff in the bag. She looked outside. Sunrise. She better set off now. Heading for the door, planning on sneaking out of the building without the Captain knowing, she opened the door, only to growl.
"Leaving already?" Kenpachi asked, quirking an eyebrow, a smirk on his face.
"How the hell do you keep on doing that?" Shun growled, closing the door, locking it.
She turned, glaring at the Captain, walking past him and down the hall. Great. He actually went to see her off? Just fucking great. Bad luck. Sighing, she looked to the side, falling in step with the Captain. She stared at him suspiciously.
"What?" Kenpachi asked, frowning.
"It's not like you to wake up early." Shun said, eyes narrowed, staring at him warily.
"Shut the hell up." Kenpachi said, wanting to put his leg in front of her and trip her.
But then that would mean she would be mad at him, and then that would mean she would avoid him, which meant no action. It was weird how his mind worked. Shun hopped down the steps, holding onto the strap of the bag. She sighed. In about a day she would make it to her destination.
"Well, I better get to the gate quickly." Shun said, frowning.
She turned her head, seeing the Captain looking at her with a quirked an eyebrow, as if asking why she would want to. She opened her mouth to say why, but she frowned deeply, hearing a loud voice.
"KITTTYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Yuri yelled, running down the street, flailing her arms, smiling brightly.
"That's why." Shun muttered, glaring at the happy woman.
Yuri kept running, the angry woman noticing that her friend was running quite fast. Wait. Her eyes widened, seeing Yuri jump off the ground, arms outstretched, a happy grin on her face. Yuri crashed into Shun, both toppling to the ground, the Captain only staring at them with a bored expression.
"Dammit, Yuri!!! I thought you'd be asleep!!" Shun growled, sitting up, glaring at her friend.
"Nope!" Yuri chirped, grinning widely, making the frown on Shun's face deepen. "And Rio wanted to see you leave too! Right, Rio?"
Shun stiffened, turning her head, seeing her smiling friend standing behind her. Great. Both of them were there. Sighing, she stood up, flinching when Rio hugged her as well. Her eyebrow twitched, standing still, both her friends rubbing their faces against her stomach.
"Okay... LET GO!!!!" Shun yelled, pushing her friends away, glaring at them with her lip curled back.
She frowned, brushing her robes off, like her friends were contaminated, which made them pout.
"Shun, I hope you come back soon." Rio said, smiling, bowing, along with Yuri.
Shun frowned, narrowing her eyes, clenching her hands. While Shun was mad, as always, The Captain quirked an eyebrow, wondering why the two women were bowing.
"Stop that! Jeez! It made me mad when you did that a long time ago, and it still pisses me off!" Shun growled, sneering.
A long time ago? What the hell was going on? The Captain frowned in confusion, wondering what her two friends did a long time ago.
"Sorry... Kitty-sama." Yuri said, grinning.
She cried out in pain when her angry friend smacked her head. She sniffled, holding the back of her head, eyes watering.
"Ah, yes, Shun. Can you come over here?" Rio asked, motioning for her friend, smiling.
Shun quirked an eyebrow, sighing in exhaustion, walking to her friend, putting her ear up to Rio's face, frowning deeply. Rio whispered, Yuri listening along as well, a blush on the woman's face. Both Shun and Yuri blinked, quiet. All of a sudden, Shun started laughing loudly, doubling over, putting her hand to her forehead, eyes closed, still laughing hard. Rio blushed heavily and lowered her head while Yuri tilted her head.
"You?!! In love?!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! When that happens, me and Yuri here will experience love as well!!!" Shun yelled, laughing hard, falling to the ground.
"B-But, maybe it is how I feel!" Rio protested, face red, a frown on her face.
"Listen Rio, you haven't felt love before, so what makes you think you are in love with this Kucsiki, anyway?" Shun asked, standing up, quirking an eyebrow, no longer laughing.
"His name is not Kucsiki!" Rio snapped, glaring at her friend.
"Whatever. Anyway, you tell me the answer when I get back." Shun said, walking down the street, the Captain following, wondering what the hell the women were talking about.
"But... okay." Rio said, head lowered.
"But maybe... Rio is in love, Kitty." Yuri said, tilting her head.
"Maybe." Shun said, frowning, mad that she had three people following her, glad one of them was being quiet.
The Captain frowned deeply, hearing the angry woman yell at her two friends to stop following her, and then her two friends would start to whine. It was making him mad as well. Once they made it to the gate, Shun sighed out of relief.
"We'll miss you Kitty!" Yuri exclaimed, bawling loudly, rubbing her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Shun said, about to walk away, until both her friends hugged her, tears streaming down Yuri's face.
Shun sighed, frowning deeply, letting her friends hold her for several seconds before pushing them off, walking away, waving to the small group. Yuri sniffled, tears streaming down her face, holding her sleeve. Rio smiled sadly, can't wait to see their friend in a couple days. But... when they looked to the side, they saw that the Captain had already left, making them quirk an eyebrow. Where did he go? Shrugging, thinking he went back to his division, they turned around, going to go back to their divisions.
-:-
Rio sighed, eyelids lowered, sitting in her room. Shun finally left, leaving both her and Yuri alone. Again. She did it every year. But considering the circumstances, she couldn't blame her angry friend.
"She always left, when she was sad." Rio muttered, hair covering her face.
And what she meant by that sentence, was that her friend always went to visit them when she was sad. And from where they had lived, it didn't take long to go visit them. It only took thirty minutes. But since they had lived in the Seireitei now, it would probably take a whole day. She sighed, laying down, looking at the ceiling.
She only wondered why Shun and Yuri were getting attention from Captains. She had noticed that their Captains had started paying attention to them quite a while ago. It's amazing that they haven't noticed. Well, Yuri did, but she was sure that Shun didn't notice.
She sighed. Shun may have been a great observer, but she was oblivious to people interested in her. She shook her head.
Both her and Yuri respected and looked up to her, wanting to be strong like her, be tough like her, doesn't take anybody's crap, and yet she couldn't even tell when someone liked her.
She shivered. But Shun was able to tell when someone from the academy liked her. The man practically stalked her. But, she had made him scared of her like everyone else.
She closed her eyes, arms spread out. Shun was always mad for a reason. But Rio herself did not know, nor did Yuri know. She had told them that she had gotten mad after an incident that she never told them. She was always secretive.
Her eyes softened. Maybe she had forgiven the Captain a little too early. He... took her rank away!!! She frowned, narrowing her eyes. She clenched her hands, knuckles turning white. Taking a deep breath, she tried to relax herself. It wasn't like her to be mad.
And her? In love? Now she understands what Shun meant when she laughed. Her, nor her friends, have ever experienced love, so how could she say she was in love? She paused. Maybe she needed an expert. And the only person she knows that has ever been in love is the Captain himself. She sighed. She has to ask him if she was in love.
-:-
Yuri sniffled, tears still streaming down her face, a tissue in her hand, sitting on top of the tenth division building, looking at the sunset. Shun left. She finally left around the same time every year. Her eyelids lowered, a sad look coming to her face. What would her angry friend do if she saw them? She only saw them once, but that wasn't with Shun.
"Poor Kitty. She must be sad." Yuri muttered, eyes narrowed.
Her friend was such a sad person, even though she didn't show it. She looked at the roof, sighing. She looked at the sky, thinking of what Rio had said. She was in love? But... her, Rio, and Shun never experienced love before, so how could she say she was in love? Or did she think she was in love? She was becoming confused, or rather, she was confusing herself.
She shook her head, sighing, hands on her knees, kneeling down.
"We are such confusing people." Yuri muttered, meaning herself and her friends.
Shun was a hard person to figure out, always keeping secrets, Rio was always sad, especially when she was raped, and always told herself she was weak, and herself... she always smiled when she saw people happy, but she always had questions bothering her.
Shun never told anyone how she felt, and she never wanted to. It was quite a long time before she told her and Rio that she had people special to her. She didn't like people around her, and always got mad when someone would try to befriend her. Especially weaklings. She never liked weaklings for as long as Yuri can remember.
Rio always smiled, even though she was crumbling underneath that calm exterior. A lot of stuff always bother her, and she would smile at people and say nothing was bothering her at all. And she was proud to have a friend like Rio, who was able to scare people with a simple smile and dark look.
And herself, she always hated being alone. Even after they had died. And after they had died, she had walked the Rukongai for a long time, alone. Only after she had met Rio, had she started becoming happy again. And after meeting Shun, she was truly happy, grateful she wasn't alone anymore.
She smiled softly, looking at the sky. She was happy she had friends, after so long of being alone. She lowered her head, hugging her legs to her chest, resting her forehead on her knees, hiding her face. She smiled, eyes closed, happy.
"I'm glad... I found you... Rio-chan... Shun-chan." Yuri muttered, using suffix at the ends of her friends names, and calling her angry friend by her given name.
Yuri's smile widened. Shun must be happy... to have received her name from people very special to her. She looked up, her eyes soft, looking at the sky. Shun wasn't always mad.
-:-
"Thank you." A woman said, smiling.
Shun grunted, grabbing both the flower bouquets, nodding to the woman, walking down the dusty street. The first district. She still had a long ways to go. But if she ran, she would probably be there at sunset. She frowned, rolling her eyes, taking the bag off her shoulder.
"Dammit." Shun muttered, putting the flowers in her bag.
She growled, she stretched her legs, eyes narrowed. It was the only way she would make it there before dark. Sighing, she started running, arms back, eyes narrowed, seeing people get out of her way. She hated going all the way to that damn place. But she wanted to go there, and she hasn't missed one year.
She narrowed her eyes, her mouth no longer in a frown, her eyebrows furrowed. And it's been... over four hundred years now. She shook her head. Dammit! She shouldn't be feeling sad. She was always angry. Angry!! She narrowed her eyes, looking to the side, stopping, turning her head to look back. What the hell...? It felt like... she shrugged. It was probably nothing.
Continuing to run, she smiled, running faster, looking like a blur to the souls in the Rukongai. Shun jumped onto the ground, seeing that the farther from the first district she got, the fewer houses there were. She remembered where she had lived with those two idiots. Even though it was dangerous, they had insisted on staying with her.
Shun shook her head. No time to think back in the past! She growled. Only those two did that, not her! She stopped, looking to the side, hearing screams, seeing that it was a hollow, closing in on two kids. She frowned. Dammit. Useless kids.
They both had black short messy hair, blue and purple kimonos. They must be twins. Shrugging, she put her bag down.
Both the girl and the boy widened their eyes, seeing the hollow lick it's lips, grinning widely, it's claws reaching for them.
"It has been a while, since I had anything to eat." The hollow said, drooling, which was pretty gross.
It stopped, turning it's head, seeing Shun walking over to it, frowning, a bored look on her face. Both the children sniffled, eyes still wide, the boy in front of the girl.
"A shinigami!" The hollow exclaimed, it's tail flicking.
It crawled towards her, fast, roaring, Shun's face remaining bored. It went to strike her, claw looking sharp, which could cause injury to a soul in the Rukongai. But before it could touch Shun, she calmly grabbed it, making the hollow widen it's eyes, and screamed when she tossed it away, both the children watching as it flew farther, landing in the mountains, hearing it's screaming fade the farther it got.
"Frickin' troublesome." Shun muttered, walking back towards her bag.
Both the children blinked, tears still streaming down their faces, seeing the shinigami grab her bag, hang it over her shoulder, and started walking again. Hesitantly, they ran after her, wanting to thank her.
"Ms. Shinigami!" The boy called, dirt on his face along with his sister.
Shun stopped, quirking an eyebrow, looking at the kids with a bored look.
"What?" Shun asked, frowning.
"W-We wanted to thank you." The girl said, hiding behind her brother. "My name is Aki and my brother's name is Sho."
Both the kids bowed, saying thank you, making Shun roll her eyes. They had a little bit of reiatsu. She grabbed her bag, digging inside, pulling a bag of fruit out, seeing the kid's eyes widen, staring at the food hungrily. She handed it to them, seeing them take it and stare at her strangely.
"Take it. I don't want it." Shun said, walking away.
"Uh... Thank you Ms. Shinigami!" Sho called, seeing the woman wave back.
"My name is Shun, brat!" Shun yelled, not liking to be called 'Ms. Shinigami.'
Both kids watched as the woman disappeared in the trees, their eyes wide. Shun... that was the shinigami's name.
-:-
"Rio, what is it you want?" Byakuya asked, eyes emotionless, sitting down, signing paperwork.
"Uh... Captain Kuchiki... I wanted to talk to you about something, personal." Rio muttered, looking down, avoiding the Captain's gaze.
Byakuya looked up, looking at Rio's expression. She seemed embarrassed. He nodded, seeing Rio smile softly and nod. He looked at Renji, seeing the lieutenant sigh before standing up, walking to the door, waving to them before he shut it behind him.
"What is it you want to discuss, Rio?" Byakuya asked, hands folded together.
"I... can you tell me what... love feels like?" Rio asked, face blushing.
Byakuya blinked, eyes narrowed, wondering what she meant. Tell her... what love felt like? Did that mean what he thinking about? Her cleared his throat, seeing Rio look up.
"Rio, have you ever felt love before?" Byakuya asked, seeing Rio open her eyes.
Rio's face reddened, looking down. She sighed, looking up, hands clasped in front of her, nodding slowly. Byakuya felt his eyes widen slightly. Never... felt love before? He was quiet, nodding slowly.
"I see." Byakuya said.
"Uh... can you explain to me... how it feels?" Rio asked, eyebrows furrowed.
Byakuya paused, not really knowing how to explain how love felt. But, seeing the troubled look on Rio's face, he sighed, nodding, seeing her smile brightly. He motioned her to sit in the chair in front of the desk. Sitting down, Rio looked up, listening to whatever the Captain was going to say.
"First off, I believe you feel happy, when you see the one you love happy. Feel your heart pound when he or she is near. Also the one you love will always make you happy. I'm sorry if that is not the explanation you are looking for, Rio, but I do not know how to make it more simple." Byakuya said, seeing Rio's eyes wide.
Rio slowly nodded, a smile spreading across her face. Feeling happy around the one you love? She felt happy when he was around. But she felt like that around many people. Feel your heart pound when he or she in near? She felt like that... only around him. She put her hands on her cheeks, blushing. Love? Was she really in love with someone who had such a cold exterior?
Byakuya looked at Rio closely, seeing her blush darken, shaking her head every several seconds, muttering questions to herself. He looked outside, seeing the sun setting. He looked back towards the blushing woman.
"Rio." Byakuya said calmly.
"Yes?!" Rio squeaked, seeing the Captain stare at her strangely at her high voice.
"Would you like to accompany me to go to dinner?" Byakuya asked, seeing Rio's blush take over her whole face.
"Y-Yes!" Rio said, smiling brightly, feeling nervous for some odd reason.
Byakuya delicately raised an eyebrow, a small smile coming to his face, seeing Rio look to the side, blushing heavily. She was acting different, like she had discovered something.
-:-
"Hi, lieutenant Matsumoto!" Yuri chirped, grinning, waving happily.
"Yuri-chan! It's been a while since we had seen each other! And it's almost night... you made me feel so lonely." Rangiku whined, pouting, Yuri tilting her head to the side.
"But I saw you last night." Yuri said, blinking in confusion.
"Yes. But I barely get any time on this fanfic now." Rangiku said, pouting, folding her arms over her chest.
A/N Not true! You li-ar!! D: She's a-lying!
Yuri blinked, tilting her head to the other side. Fan... fic? What was she talking about? Shrugging, she skipped into the office, looking at the sunset. She sat on the roof most of the day, and it was still cold outside. Wow.
"Do you need help doing paperwork, Captain Hitsugaya?" Yuri asked, smiling widely.
"Yes. Thank you. Since someone doesn't like to do it." Hitsugaya said, glaring at his lieutenant, who smiled innocently.
"So, Yuri-chan. I hear you were sad that your friend left." Rangiku said, sitting beside the happy woman on the couch.
"Yeah. Kitty always leaves around this time of year." Yuri said, a pile of paperwork I front of her.
"But, why? It's not like there's anything interesting in the Rukongai." Rangiku said, seeing Yuri slowly look at her.
"Lieutenant Matsumoto, please don't say that. There is something very special to Kitty in the Rukongai." Yuri said, face serious, eyes narrowed, mouth in a firm line.
"Uh... Y-Yes." Rangiku said, nodding, feeling... scared.
"Okay!!" Yuri chirped, smiling brightly, reaching for a form, reading it.
Hitsugaya watched, astonished, eyes wide. Yuri could be scary when she was serious. Yuri looked up and grinned, waving to the Captain. He smiled and nodded, seeing Yuri smile back. She blinked, thinking back to what she was thinking before. Love. Her face reddened, eyes widening. She shook her head. No! Just because Rio says she was in love, didn't mean she was in love as well. And she was pretty sure that Shun wasn't in love too.
She wasn't in love! No! That was bad. She folded her arms over her chest, nodding to herself. Of course she wasn't in love. There was just no way she could be. She was Yuri. Someone that didn't trust males. And she only started trusting the Captain not that long ago. So there couldn't be a way she would suddenly fall in love with the Captain... right?
Yuri furrowed her eyebrows, glancing at the Captain, who looked up and smiled at her. Right?
-:-
Shun looked up, looking at the hill, blinking. She grinned. Finally! She was getting tired of running. Walking up to the cliff, she started jumping up the wall, jumping up to a grassy patch up the cliff, landing in front of a tree, the bell on the collar making a noise. She frowned. Dumb collar. She paused, touching the bell, eyes soft. She frowned. No! She wasn't thinking about that pervert! She looked up, pausing, eyes narrowed.
Sighing, she took her bag off her shoulder, reaching inside the bag, grabbing the two bouquets of flowers, setting the bag down. She walked forward, holding the bouquets. Once she stopped, she kneeled down, head facing the ground, eyes emotionless. Reaching forward, she placed the bouquets... on the two graves.
Retracting her hands, she looked up, mouth in a firm line.
"I'm sorry... f-"
"Who the hell're they?"
Shun screamed, looking to the side, jumping away in surprise. She paused, her eyes widening when she saw who it was. No fucking way!
"You... FOLLOWED ME?!!!!" Shun yelled, glaring at the eleventh division Captain.
"Yeah. I wanted to know what you were doing." Kenpachi said, shrugging, like it was no big deal.
"B-But what about the division?!" Shun growled, hands clenched, lip curled back.
"Yachiru's watching it." Kenpachi said, leaning in, looking at the graves.
"...You do know that she'll probably wreck it, right?" Shun asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Doesn't matter." Kenpachi said, standing straight.
"And why the hell... did you even come? And without making yourself known? Man--! Do you know how long I was muttering curses to myself because you had kissed me... like that last night?" Shun asked, growling, glaring at the Captain, eyebrow twitching.
"No. Tell me... who these people are?" Kenpachi asked, looking at the two graves.
Shun paused, frowning, narrowing her eyes, looking at the graves with a sad look. Screaming. All that screaming. And she couldn't stop herself. Her hands clenched hard, her knuckles turning white, shoulders shaking. The Captain calmly looked at her, eyes narrowed as well. She looked like she was about to cry.
Shun shook her head, teeth clenched, eyes narrowed. She looked at the Captain, seeing him looking at her with either pity or concern. Her money was on pity. But she had gotten it wrong. Kenpachi was concerned, a little, wondering why the woman looked so damn sad. She sighed, shoulders slouching, eyes soft, looking at the graves with sad looks. Kenpachi felt his hand twitch, wanting to just comfort her for some damn reason. Made no sense. He wanted to sleep with her, but now... he wanted to comfort her? What the hell was wrong with him? He watched as Shun bent down, touching one of the graves.
"They were my parents." Shun muttered, Kenpachi feeling his eyes widen with shock.
A/N Oh, yeah!! Another Chap-i-tor!!! All bow down to me!!! Just kidding. But YAY!! Another chapter!!