disclaimer: i do not own Bleach

Chapter 54
Ai no Katamari

3rd person POV

Kazuya awoke to a sweet, fruity smell. When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was Raina's long, crimson locks that he smelled. Both were lying on their sides, but Raina had her back towards him. She was lying on his left arm and holding onto his left hand. He smiled softly at the sight of the girl he loved sleeping peacefully next to him. It didn't bother him one bit that all they did was sleep. He'd wait forever for her. That was how much he loved her.

His phone beeped signifying he had a text. He carefully, as to not wake Raina, rolled onto his back and reached for his phone on the night stand. The text was from Jin, asking if he wanted to have lunch with them. He just then realized that it was 11am.

"Didn't realize I was that tired." He laughed softly to himself and responded back to Jin.

Paizley was sitting on the couch next to Jin, watching TV, when he suddenly started laughing.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"Well I texted Kazu to ask him if he wanted to have lunch with us and I never expected the response I got."

"What did he say?"

"He said he wanted to, but he had to wait for 'Miku-chan' to wake up before he could do anything. Apparently she is lying on his arm and he doesn't want to disturb her by trying to pull it away."

"Raina is with him?" Paizley asked, a little shocked.

Jin nodded with a big grin on his face. "In bed with him. I wonder what happen with those two last night." He began hitting keys on the phone.

"What are you saying?"

"Asking him if he got some last night."

"Jin!" She slapped his arm. "That's my sister! Besides, I highly doubt anything like that happened. That doesn't seem like Raina."

"What? A middle of the night booty call?"

"They haven't even done it the first time, so they can't have booty calls yet, baka."

"Hey, guys change girls so you never know. Look at you."

"She's not me. It's going to take more than a pretty face to do it for her."

"So my pretty face is what got you in my bed?"

"Well, it wasn't the only thing, but it helped." She teased. "Your smooth talking helped too."

He laughed and sent the text.

Kazuya laughed when he received the text and briefly explained what really happened. As he sent out the explanation, he noticed Raina started to wake up.

"Ohayou, Miku-chan." He said when she opened her eyes.

She smiled, which was a rare sight for those who didn't know her. It was a little rare for even those who did know her, but it wasn't rare for Kazuya. She always smiled around him. She couldn't help it. So to him, it was normal. "Ohayou."

"I'm sorry I couldn't comfort you better this morning."

"Don't be. Being as you were was sufficient."

"I'm happy then."

Kazuya didn't understand how big of a deal last night was for Raina. For her to cry and let herself be 'weak' was a huge deal. That wasn't something she ever did, least not since she was a child. Allowing herself to weaken and have him be her rock, it changed their relationship. Maybe not in his eyes, but in her eyes it was different now. He wasn't just weak human who made her weak anymore. He was strong. He was her rock now. She trusted him. She knew that if she needed to be weak, he would be there to hold her up. She was beginning to realize that even if he made her feel weak by bringing out her human side, she wasn't really that weak because he was there to be strong. Together, they could be strong.

"Jin texted me and asked if I wanted to eat lunch with them. I'm sure he texted you too, but I didn't hear your phone." Kazuya said.

"I left mine at home. Lunch? What time is it?" She leaned up to see the clock. "I should probably go back home." She threw the covers off her and got out of bed.

"Be careful going home." He got out of bed and walked towards her.

"I'm always careful."

He embraced her. "I hope you're feeling better."

"Much better." She didn't want to let go. She could stay in his arms forever and be content, but she had to let go. "I'll see you in a few at lunch."

She pecked him on the cheek and walked out the door. She had teleported to his hotel, so she got back home quickly. It seemed no one had even known she was missing or at least they didn't seem to care. Kristen was still upset about her Grandfather's death as one would expect, so Gin was trying to comfort her the best he knew how. Kin was comforting Mitsuko. That left Raina as the odd ball. She didn't mind, though. She was the strong one in her house. As Gin had said, she showed less emotion than Byakuya Kuchiki at times. It didn't bother her that she was seen that way either. It kept people from being worried about her and let her do as she pleased for the most part.

After Kazuya got ready, he texted to Jin. They said they would pick him up at his hotel. He told them where he was, he room number and waited for them to arrive. He didn't have to wait that long, since they didn't live that far away.

"I brought this for you, Paizley-chan." Kazuya said, handing her a CD. "It's my new single. Miku-chan said you liked my music."

"I do! Thanks! We can listen to this on the way to the country club."

"Great. As if I'm not going to hear his music enough when we get to Japan." Jin joked.

"It's better than your music." Kazuya teased back.

"Hey, who's the international star here? Yeah, that would be me. It's clear whose music is better." They all laughed and headed to the car.

"You said country club. That's where we're going to eat?" Kazuya asked.

"Yeah. We've a little problem with the paparazzi and we know for a fact we won't if we eat at the country club." Jin explained. "So we choose there. All we need is to have more pictures of us out there."

"It's really bad?"

"Yeah. People are obsessed with us. Maybe it's because of the age difference. Who knows? But we always get our picture taken it seems. My manager told me to lie low, so I thought I should listen this time."

"It's always nice to listen to managers. I had to fight with mine a bit to be here though, but it's worth it."

"That's sweet." Paizley commented as they got in the car. She texted Raina when they were leaving to let her know.

They all met Raina at the country club and had lunch. They ran into some people from their school, but luckily they only shared their condolences when they approached.

"Ahhh, I really wish we could go doing something." Jin said as he stretched his arms over his head.

"Like what?" Kazuya asked.

"I don't know, party or something. We don't get to see each other much anymore. I would like to go out and have some fun. It's been a while since I've partied. But we can't." He propped his elbows on the table.

"Technically you could, if he were staying longer." Paizley said.

"Knowing my luck recently, we would be photographed and people would be like 'oooh she's underage. That's against the law.' My agency finds out and then I'm suspended with possible demotion or something. I guess that would depend on if you were drinking or not. Kazuya would probably get in trouble too just for being there. Yeah, I think I'll use my head this time and not do it."

"You don't have to take me. I'm the problem. I don't go, problem solved."

"I'm not going out and leaving you at home."

"Why not? I don't have to party. I've never been much of a partier anyways."

"I wouldn't have any fun knowing I left you just sitting at home. Besides, I'd just think about you all night and wonder what you were doing. That's how I am every time I'm away from you."

"Aww, really?"

"Yeah."

She just smiled and laced her fingers in with his.

"Aren't you two just adorable?" Raina commented.

Kazuya laughed. "So when are you two getting married?"

"If it were up to me, I'd say tomorrow. But her mom is against it and her dad is withholding his judgment. He wants to like see if I can 'clean up my act' or whatever before he makes a decision. He said I needed a haircut, so I got it cut and then he didn't say a word about it."

"I thought you looked different. Well, do you need both their permission?"

"We're not sure, but I don't think her dad will ok it if her mom is so against it. Their mom is one scary lady when she pissed off."

"She seems nice to me."

"Well you didn't knock her daughter up and then try to marry her. Of course her dad thinks I'm taking responsibility by wanting marrying her. He just wants to know I'll take care of her before he let me. I'm taking care of her just fine right now. So I don't see the problem. Her mom thinks differently though. She thinks Pai will be making a huge mistake by getting married at this age. I guess she doesn't think we'll make it and get divorced. Also she doesn't trust me enough to let me have her. So we're kind of just stuck right now."

"It's a little crazy to think you're going to be a dad soon."

"Yeah, it is. It's scary too, but," He looked at Paizley, "I think we'll do just fine."

Paizley just smiled at the man she adored.

"I do too. You're in love. As long as you have that, you can do anything." He looked at Raina and smiled.

After lunch, they took Kazuya home and Raina went back with to Jin's house. She wanted to stay with them until the funeral, so she brought her clothes with her. She wasn't feeling so comfortable around her house. He mother was upset with her and Gin was calling her a killer every chance he got. She was much more comfortable around Jin and Paizley.

"Soooooo," Paizley spoke as she and Raina got ready for the funeral, "are planning on telling him?"

"Telling who what?"

Paizley laughed. "I feel your emotions, Rai. You loooove Kazuya."

Raina looked at Paizley. "I do?"

"You don't know?"

"Well," She paused. "I'm not sure what love is. I know how I feel about mom, dad, you and the twins, but loving a man is different, right?"

"Yeah, much different. I can't believe there is actually something I know more about than you. This is a first. I'm a little excited."

"I can't help it that I'm not as well attuned with emotions as an empath. No one knows emotions better than an empath."

"Exactly! And mom and dad want to tell me I don't know what love it. Where they get off saying that?"

Raina cleared her throat. "Back on track."

"Oh sorry. Well, you feel different than you did at the viewing. What happened last night? Kazuya didn't really give Jin a detailed version."

Raina explained what happened to her younger sibling. "Things a definitely different from my point of view."

"Yeah, I'd say. You love the guy now. That was a big step for you, Rai. Sometimes you need to give into to your human half. Look what doing so brought you this time. Being human isn't so bad."

"Being logical is better, especially for the battlefield."

"Love isn't a battlefield though."

"Life is a battle, Pai. I wish you could see the world how I do."

"I don't. Seems frustrating. Relax. You're in love now. Enjoy it."

"So this is love. It feels…good."

Paizley smiled at her sister's realization. "It sure does. Tell him."

"Huh? How?"

"Just say 'I love you'. It's easy and it's going to make him so happy."

When the girls finished getting ready, Raina went to pick Kazuya up and Jin took Paizley on ahead to the funeral home. Renji wasn't able to come, so he missed another opportunity to meet his daughter's boyfriend. He was unaware that she was dating. She never talked to him about. She didn't talk to anyone about Kazuya besides Paizley. After the funeral, Raina took Kazuya to the airport.

"I wish you didn't have to leave so soon." Raina said.

"I wish I didn't have to leave at all, but I have to. I have a lot of work, but I'll be back for Christmas. It might only be a few days, but I promise I'll be back." The call for his flight came over the speakers. "I have to go." I kissed her and then proceeded to walk away.

She hadn't gotten to tell him how she felt, so she just blurted it out as he was walking away. "I love you."

When he heard it, he almost dropped his bag, but it didn't. He slowly turned around to look at her.

"I love you." She repeated as they made eye contact.

He was so happy. He had wanted to hear those words from her for a while. They had almost known each other for 9 months and even though he just told her about his love only a few months ago, in his heart he knew he would fall in love with her when they first met. It wasn't love at first sight, but it was like he knew he would love her soon at first sight. He did love her before he actually told her, but he waited in fear of scaring her away. When he heard her say it the second time, he did his bag. He ran back to her and kissed her passionately, not caring who was watching. If he had been Jin, he would have asked her to marry him right there. But he wasn't as spontaneous as Jin. He knew it was too soon for that.

He pulled away from the kiss and just smiled the biggest smile she had ever seen him smile. Before he could say anything, they had the last call for his flight. He had to rush off, but Raina was fine with it. The moment didn't need any other words. It was perfect to her.

Paizley's POV

It had been a few weeks since my Grandpa's death. It affected mom a lot, but I didn't get to see much of that affect because I didn't live at home anymore. Raina told me about it though. I decided not to talk to her about the going on tour with Jin, instead I went to dad. I went by myself, while Jin was working. I thought it was best that way. Dad surprised me when he said it was ok, but of course there were conditions. He wanted us to have adult supervision. That really made me feel like a kid. Jin was an adult and besides what were we going to do? We lived together. There was nothing we could do there that we couldn't do here. I agreed, but only if whoever he got didn't get in our way. I preferred they stayed in soul form and didn't watch us when we were in our room. I wasn't into exhibitionism. We weren't going to do anything bad. Jin didn't do drugs, so that thought shouldn't have entered his mind. But I guess he didn't take any chances with Jin. Now he did drink, but he really hadn't since we could back together. He's have a little every now and then, but not much at all. And of course I wasn't going to drink. I was pregnant. I didn't want to hurt my baby. I guess dad just wanted to make sure all the bases were covered. Another reason he agreed was because he wanted me out of the area anyways. I told him about how school life was and I could just see the 'told you so' written across his face. He talked to the school, so I don't know what he told them, but I didn't really care. As long as I was getting to go that was fine with me.

Kazuya came back for a few days around Christmas. He got to attend my grandparent's famous Christmas Eve party. He actually took his earring out for it. Jin made fun of him for doing it to try to impress people. Kazuya liked to please people though, so he did everything he could to keep the peace. Jin wore both of his earrings. He didn't care. The party was a little odd with Grandpa there, but that was just something we'd have to get used to. Nana was doing ok though. Papa had asked her to move in with him and Grandma. She accepted, saying she'd get lonely in Palm Springs by herself. Also she was happy to be closer to the rest of us too. She wanted to have a part in her great great grandchild's life. That made me happy. She was one of the few who actually accepted this.

Seeing Raina and Kazuya so happy made me extremely happy. She needed this. She needed him. She was like a different person when she was around him. Maybe that was the way she was meant to be if the Nexus hadn't made her its guardian. I just know I'd liked it when they were together.

We packed our bags for Japan when we got back from the Christmas Eve party. On Christmas morning, we went to my parent's house and exchanged gifts. I got great things from everyone. We all spent the rest of the day just hanging around the house and having family time. After Christmas dinner, Jin and I changed into more comfortable clothing for the plane ride. We left that afternoon. I slept most of the plane ride. In fact, I was asleep when it landed. Getting off the plane, I noticed it was night time in Japan. It wasn't that late though. I was about 7pm, only it was the day after Christmas. Kazuya rode with us and parted ways at the airport. He said he would see us around later. Jin's mother was supposed to pick us up at the airport. It was my first time meeting her, so I was a little nervous. We looked around for her at the airport for a short while.

"Oh, there she is." Jin said.

I saw who she was talking about. She was beautiful. She was short and had a small frame like most Japanese women and his black hair went down her back. It wasn't as long as Raina's, but it was close. Jin looked a lot like her. I understood why people said he looked like a girl at that moment. She hugged him when met up. She hugged me too unexpectedly. She was very nice.

"Oh, look at your stomach. That's my grandbaby in there." She said in English, but with a pretty strong accent. I was 12 weeks and showing a little. I had a small belly pooching out. Jin thought it was cute, but that didn't mean anything. He would think anything was cute if it pertained to me.

"She can speak Japanese, Ka-chan." Jin said in Japanese.

"Oh, you can? I wasn't sure." She began speaking in Japanese. "Are you ready to go?"

We both nodded. She gave Jin the keys and he drove us back to her house. It was a really nice house too. I expected as much though from Jin. When we walked in, a little girl who looked so much like Jin and Saori came running in the room.

"Jin-nii!" She ran straight to him and he picked her up.

"I missed you, Mai-chan." He said and kissed her on the cheek. She just giggled. "This is Paizley-chan. Say hi." He said, speaking in a childly tone. She didn't anything. Instead she whispered something in his ear. "Can you tell her that?" He asked. She shook her head. "Quit being shy. You can tell her."

"You're pretty." She said in the shyest tone. It was beyond adorable.

"Arigatou! You're pretty too." I complimented back.

She smiled shyly and buried her face in Jin's neck.

"She's not usually like this." He said before an older girl walked in the room.

Her hair was long like her mother's, but she didn't favor Saori. I could only assume she looked like Jin's dad. I knew she had to be Rei. "Hajimemashite, Paizley-san." She bowed.

"You don't have to be so formal. You can just call me Paizley or Nee-san if you want."

"I can call you Nee-san?"

"Of course."

"I always wanted an older sister." She smiled.

"Hey! Was I not good enough?" Jin teased.

"You're not a girl!" She laughed.

"I get told I look like one enough." He joked and we all laughed.

"Do you mind if I touch your stomach?" Saori asked.

"Not at all."

I rubbed it and began talking to the baby. I actually wished my parents would do something like that. They didn't show much interest in the baby.

"Can I too?" Rei asked.

"Sure."

She put her hand on my stomach. "Hi baby. It's your oba-san."

The emotions in the room where very warm. It almost made me want to cry. I was so happy to be getting such a positive reactions. I wasn't used to it.

"Do you want to say something to baby, Mai-chan?" Jin asked. She just shook her head no and wrapped her arms around Jin's neck like she was hanging on for dear life. It was beyond adorable how attached to him she was.

After talking a little more, we went to our room, which was Jin's old room, to unpack our stuff. We'd been here for a week and then back and forth during the tour.

"Your sisters are cute." I said.

"Yeah, they are."

"Mai is really attached to you. She's a little jealous of the baby."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I felt it when you asked if she wanted to say anything to it."

"Why?"

"She's used to be the baby. Maybe she's afraid she won't get as much of your attention when it comes along."

"I wonder where Ryo is. Mom said he wasn't home yet. He better not be off getting into trouble."

"Your mom is worried about him."

"Yeah. She told me that since I left, he's been acting out. He stays out all night and doesn't tell her where he's going. He won't tell her where's he's been either. She's afraid he's gotten in with the wrong crowd. I'm going to talk to his stupid ass when he gets home. There's no need in worrying her like that."

"Don't you get upset about it now."

"Sorry. He's the man of the house now. He needs to act like it. But anyways, what do you think of my family?"

"I really like them. I like it here. The environment is really nice to be in, the emotional environment that is. They're really positive about the baby and us. It's a lot easier to be around than the negative emotions I get at my house. I think I'm to be able to relax here."

"Good. I want you to feel at home here."

"I don't think that will be a problem."

He smiled and kissed me softly. I had a good feeling about this trip. It seemed like it was going to be a peaceful one, surrounded by the love and support of Jin's family. Peace and love were definitely something at needed at such a moment in my life.