X
Karakura Town was absolutely gorgeous tonight. For some reason, despite the modern age and all the technologies and advancements that had happened since my time in Soul Society, the air seemed to be heavy and hot and wet in a way that I had missed. It had the essence of what I was used to, and that was enough to make me nostalgic.
I took my time as I walked over the many roads between my house and my vague memory of the shopping center. I enjoyed the night streets lit by futuristic lamps, the architecture of the cracking sidewalks, and the many concrete walls that lined either side of the road and protected the houses.
I had missed this, I thought. I looked over at the convenience machine that sold 20 varieties of orange soda. I had missed this easy, futuristic lifestyle. If I were to go back to where I was previously, back in the past, could I really give this up again?
Temptation clawed at me, and I stuffed the purple note into the machine. Selecting an orange soda that I had only dreamed of for the past decade or five, I watched with a deep fascination as the machine displayed an ad and the soda rolled out with a big thunk!
Picking up the soda, I had to briefly fidget with my memory over how to open it. After a few seconds, I managed to crack the lid and take a small drink. The flavor blasted my tongue in a way that I had deeply missed.
Hanging on tight to my sweet treat, I made sure to protect it as I continued on my way. My head was on swivel, and my eyes simply could not get enough of everything around me.
I came upon Satoshi Mountain, going out of my way slightly to get a better look at the torii that marked the ancient stone path up to the Lord Manor. Soft blue lights danced at the top of the mountain, straining and dying before they could touch my face.
It's just like we remember, Shiro pointed out. I silently agreed with her.
At some point, I noticed that more and more of the houses on either side of the road had garages. We must be getting to somewhere with a big road. It's unusual for so many families here to have cars like this. Some memories came easier to me. Some seemed like they never came back.
As I kept walking, I found that my theory was right. I came across the large highway, and I found myself waiting for a sign to show that I could continue walking across the street. I was absolutely enamored with the flashing hand across the street. I really had forgotten how electronic dependent we all were.
I smiled softly as I remembered Kisuke's clock.
X
I found myself above the bridge at around 3:00 a.m. This was a newer bridge, but it was still younger than me. I remembered when they first built it because Mom would take me to watch the workers work sometimes on the weekend. It was a group of very fond memories to me.
Now that I was older, I could think back about what had happened to me. What happened to me, is that what is happening to Ichigo in this world? Or did it still happen to me? My head started to spin in confusion.
There are still too many unknowns, Shiro agreed.
Looking at the far riverbank where she had passed away, I found myself remembering the rainy, sweaty, freezing afternoon that I had gone through as a young child.
That's when it all went downhill, I remembered morosely. That's when I had to start picking up responsibilities that I should never have touched.
Finishing my drink, I debated throwing it into the river.
That's not a healthy way to take out your frustration and anger, pal, Shiro admonished me.
I frowned at her.
X
Shinji's mouth twisted as his tumultuous feelings grew. The wind batted at his short hair and nipped at his clothes as he stood on one of the skyscrapers in downtown Karakura.
Hands raised up, he practiced a kido that he had wished he had spent more time on in the academy. The magnifying spell was working overtime on the young woman standing on a bridge quite some ways away.
"Tch. Looked similar, my ass," he decided. Canceling the spell, he chewed over his options. "They're the exact same!"
X
"Seven days," I decided. "In seven days I will be over this funk, and I will know what to do," I tried to convince myself.
I could feel Shiro hum inside me, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
X
"Lights! Camera!"
Blinding production lights illuminated the stage at the stage manager's yell. The splintering forefront of the hospital was sharply focused on as the camera traveled up for the dramatic shot.
"Cut!"
Quietly drinking from my smoothie, I stood behind Karin and Yuzu, next to Isshin, thankful that he was keeping aware of my space and not brushing against me. Ichigo was pouting mildly some ways away with his school friends and Rukia, who had joined some time earlier.
Casting a cursory glance their way as the stagehands set up a decent shot of the overzealous crowd, I managed to slink away from the shot and towards them as they started rolling.
"Hey," I casually greeted, popping the straw from my mouth just long enough to speak.
"Hey." Ichigo looked down at me.
Blandly, we stared at each other for a moment before turning back to his friends.
"H-Hey, Ichigo! Who is this beauty!? Some kind of long-lost—" an excitable brown-haired teen started jabbering immediately about me, seeming awed by my very presence.
"She's my sister, creep!" Ichigo immediately interrupted, flicking his flailing friend in the nose like a dog. Rukia's head turned between them, watching the spectacle.
The blue-haired boy next to him laughed. "Sorry about Keigo!" he apologized, offering his hand to me. "You're Ichigo's older sister, right? I'm Mizuiro. We're all in the same class." He smiled at me charmingly.
I reflexively shook his hand. "Right. Yeah, I'm his sister. I just got back," I said simply, not sure what else to say. "Good to meet you," I tacked on after an awkward beat.
"Wow!" Keigo recovered quickly. "She's just as awkward as you, Ichigo!" He laughed loudly, embarrassing me and making my cheeks warm up.
Ichigo opened his mouth for a quick retort as there was a sudden gasp from around us. "It's starting!" the crowd realized.
"Hey, hey, let's go get a better view!" Keigo yelled, grabbing Mizuiro and shoving through the crowd. I watched with fascination. I forgot how rowdy teens can be.
"What do you say, Ichigo and Ichigo's sister?" Rukia asked, voice in a strangely high falsetto. "Should we go get a better view?" She laughed overly politely.
"Did you forget her name?" Ichigo quickly admonished, gesturing towards me.
"What? No, it's—" She froze, and I could see the gears turning in her head.
She forgot, I realized. The truth did sting despite time having made my heart forget somewhat. "Call me Koi," I assured her. "It happens. Don't worry."
"Koi?" Ichigo asked as Rukia blushed and agreed at the faux pas.
Oops. I had said that automatically. I found myself blushing again and harder. "Yeah. That's what everyone called me in America," I fibbed. I pushed through to the front of the crowd to hide my face, both of them falling along behind. "You should call me that too. It's honestly been a long time since anyone called me…" I trailed off, feeling strange saying my own proper name. I had given it up immediately after falling back in time. After not calling myself that and not using it as my name for so long, I felt like that person might as well be a stranger.
Might as well take up a new name for a new time.
"Right," Ichigo unsurely agreed with me. I found myself between him and Rukia, the velvet rope keeping us back from the stage was brushing up against me.
I watched with fascination as someone yelled "Action!" and the lights suddenly went dim. They then turned back on, and I was hit with the pungent smell of burning dust. Scrunching my nose up, I whipped my head upward as I heard someone yell from above.
My eyes widened as I realized that someone was falling from the sky. Tensing, I found myself wanting to jump into action and save them before I realized belatedly that I could not leave my human body. That was an issue that I had realized over the past week that I had to enjoy back at home. Thankfully, my time as a spirit had somehow transferred somewhat to my mortal body and had increased my previous lack of physical strength and my ability to do kido in this form.
I relaxed when I realized that it was some kind of stage magician that was parachuting down to the set. Putting a hand over my heart as he landed, I tried to soothe my fight-or-flight instinct as he started the show and began to yell.
The tall, crunchy-looking man managed to whip the crowd into a quick tizzy as he introduced his show. I found myself trapped as everyone around me copied what seemed to be his signature hands up and laughter.
Dear Lord. Am I sure that I missed this? I asked Shiro.
Yeah, she agrees affectionately. We missed this.
Quietly to myself, I thought, she might have missed this more than me. Distantly, I remembered that Shiro enjoyed trash TV quite heavily before we left.
The soft cry of a weak hollow broke me from my thoughts. It was a pulpy cry, the human vibrato voice mixing in with the distortions of the dark energy that hollows usually took up. Knowing that it was not yet a fully formed hollow just based on the cry alone, I scanned not too seriously for it. I knew that it was going to form shortly. There's nothing we could do until it popped up.
I noticed as Ichigo and Rukia tensed on either side of me. Looking between them surreptitiously, I instantly knew that they were going to fly into action. That's good, I noted mentally. That's what a proper Soul Reaper should do whenever a hollow makes itself apparent.
Knowing that there was someone here that was capable of taking care of the situation and that I could not leave this human form allowed me to relax and listen to their scuffle without stress.
As the hollow seemed to reform at the base of the steps of the hospital, I realized with a strong pity that the crowd must have disturbed it and tainted the soul enough to cause the completed change to a hollow. My eyes shifted between the Soul Reaper duo as they realized where it was.
While they discussed it between themselves and debated over what they should do, I casually looked around to see what the crowd was doing. This town, just like the one that I had experienced in my own past, seemed to just generally have a higher reiatsu than anywhere else. I saw a few faces pull tight at the strange sound that rang in their ears.
Turning around slightly to look farther, my sparrow eyes widened as I realized who was standing not but a few meters behind us and slightly to the left.
Eyes more gray and curious than an African parrot peered at us over an almost dainty white fan. I absently noticed that Tessai was standing next to him with two smaller children fidgeting around their legs.
I hadn't sensed him at all, I realized. Dust swirling, the hollow manifested on stage next to the performer.
Slowly, as if not to startle me or draw attention to himself, he lowered his fan and held one finger up to his lips as if to say, 'Be quiet!'
I barely gave a nod, instead keeping my posture tight from my sudden surprise. A cacophonous racket was starting up in my chest from just seeing him, let alone interacting.
Being pushed to the side, I let myself fall a little more than I usually would have from my surprise. My mouth formed a small 'oh!' when I realized that both Ichigo and Rukia were jumping the crowd line.
Flabbergasted, I watched as they were immediately tackled by an outrageous number of guards. Maybe not an outrageous amount considering the circumstances? I thought with a small amount of humor.
Giggles falling loose from my face, I had to struggle to keep the smirk off as I noticed the camera immediately whipping around to film us instead of the main event. I thought that we didn't want to be on camera? Shiro asked with confusion.
Oh, right, I suddenly remembered. Going to move away out of the shot, I jumped from a sudden large hand on my shoulder.
A familiar hand.
The quiet yet sparky smell of gunpowder spurted out and around from a paper fan that was being waved over Kisuke's face right next to my head. I couldn't help as my body continued to tighten further from the interaction. He smells so good, I thought desperately.
Stop. We don't even know if the past that we experienced happened here, Shiro pointed out.
Gritting my teeth from the emotions and physical sensations, I grudgingly agreed with her. We don't even know what kind of past happened between us and him in this reality, I agreed. Shiro and I had agreed that it would probably be best if we stuck to whatever this version of us had done before. It left us with a lot of tiptoeing around to do as we discreetly tried to learn things the hard way.
"Kurosaki! Over here!" His deep voice hadn't changed over the years. It prickled my heart uncomfortably, TV static performing on the gentle nerve endings.
Desperately craning his orange head around despite the simply outrageous pile of guards on top of him, Ichigo saw who was waving at him. "Huh? What!?" he yelled over the noise of the guards as they tried to restrain them both. I noticed Rukia growling at the guards but couldn't quite muster up the strength to beat even one of them off.
Instead of answering, I watched with fascination as Kisuke produced a walking cane and immediately stabbed Ichigo through the middle with it.
When Ichigo's soul popped out cleaner than candy, my fascination rose. I watched, dumbfounded, as Ichigo then ran off without thanks onto the main stage area, immediately causing a ruckus with the hollow and the stage performer. With a shock, I realized that the performer could see both Ichigo and the threat.
I could only shake my head as Ichigo's minimal experience led him into the hospital itself, the hollow tailing after him, and Kisuke's hand slipped off my shoulder.
"He's not going to be able to fight in there with that kind of oversized sword," I commented quietly to Rukia and Kisuke as she was ushered back behind the line. If he put his hand on me that casually, then we obviously know each other, I told the huffing Shiro.
"It's going to be difficult," Rukia agreed with me as Kisuke stayed silent. I looked down at her, steadfast ignoring Kisuke and making sure I didn't look at his face again, realizing that she had dropped her fake voice and was now frowning with her arms crossed toward the building.
Is this how she felt when I first started out?
The thought hung in my head before Ichigo's sword came to the forefront of my mind. Had my zanpakutou looked that outrageous? Truth be told, I could barely remember how my first blade had been shaped or how large it had been. It was just simply too long ago now.
"I heard that you came back to town. It's good to see you again," Kisuke spoke to me. I felt the spring inside me winding taut.
"Yeah," I agreed, glancing at him before I could help myself. He didn't exchange the look.
"You managed to find help for your powers then?" he subtly questioned.
"Y-Yeah…" I stuttered. Talking to him again, knowing that it had been an excruciating week for me and most likely an excruciating century for him, distraught me.
Luckily, Shiro was silent, having given up her past chants of hoarder, hoarder, hoarder, after we had gotten closer all those years ago.
"Good," he offered, clearly trying to keep the conversation going with the little I was giving him.
"How have you been?" I asked slowly, aware of Rukia now staring at us from his other side.
"Good. The shop has been good. Jinta and Ururu have grown up some since you left," he answered.
I nodded, distantly feeling Ichigo start to panic even more as his spiritual pressure rose. Idiot.
Based off agitation alone, I was starting to believe we really were related.
"I'm glad to hear." I had known about his future banishment that whole time in the past…and now he's here. I didn't save him.
Could we learn how it affected him and not feel guilty? Shiro doubted it.
"Kisuke—" My hair swayed as I suddenly looked up at him, brown smoke gathering in my eyes from my untreated emotions burning.
Ichigo's thunderbolt screaming interrupted me, and I looked toward the roof of the hospital. I took a step forward as I saw him almost fall off, automatically going to catch him.
A small paper fan to my shoulder stayed me, reminding me of our previous games together like a punch in the stomach. "Leave him," Kisuke insisted, and I felt my body obey. How can I say no to Kisuke Urahara?
I gulped as Ichigo disappeared from our view and farther onto the roof.
"Were you going to say something?" he asked me.
Not sure where to start or what was safe (How was the last century? Did you miss me? Do you…blame me? How are you?), I chose my words carefully.
"That's a handy cane," I observed. He looked down, twirling it somewhat. "You going to sell more?" I baited.
Instantly, his fan was up from where it had fallen somewhat. "Maah, I'm afraid this model isn't for sale. Maybe I could help you with something else, though?" he asked playfully.
I could not help the settled habit of my eyes flicking up and down his frame as he said something like that. "I'll have to remember to stop by," I answered.
If I hadn't spent all those years with him, being held by him and me holding him in turn, I wouldn't have been able to see the slight dilation of curiosity in his extremely low-level reiatsu he always released.
The gunpowder smell grew subtly stronger, likely imperceivable to all others. At least I hope, I realized sourly. I kept the pinched look off my face from the thought.
"No rush for my favorite customer!" he assured me before the crowd was suddenly cheering around us. I scoffed at him openly before I turned to see Ichigo looking victorious on the roof. He waved down at Rukia, who returned the gesture after turning away from us.
X
Sitting cross-legged on my bed, I fiddled with an empty school notebook as I thought. Shiro was laying down, curling around my back somewhat and toying with the end of my braid.
"Our hair is getting long," she observed, throwing it over my shoulder and smacking me in the face with it.
Taking the challenge, I took the end and started to tickle at her face with it. She batted at me half-heartedly, laughing, before rolling away and yawning.
"Yeah. I like it," I told her, measuring it out with my hand. The gentle years spent in the Seireitei had allowed me to grow it out much farther than it had been before. "I just wish I had that damn hair stick," I admitted to her.
She laughed. "The one Jushiro gave us?" she asked, knowing very well which one it was.
"Hmm…Didn't I already have it in when we met him last time?" I asked.
"Oh, you did," she realized belatedly.
Shrugging it off, I jumped as her colder hands roamed my thighs. "Hey…can we unwind? It's been a while…" she murmured softly. I felt the bed shift as she sat up and wrapped her arms around my neck.
A possessive smile on my cheek. "Unless you don't want to…?" she questioned, knowing very well that certain feeling was infectious.
Seeing Kisuke must have riled her up too.
Dropping the notebook from my lap and onto the floor, I let her hands tangle in my hair as she demanded a kiss from me.
The two of us parted, and I put my head on her shoulder while I sighed to catch my breath. My eyes caught the fallen notebook on the floor.
"What in the world…?"
X
The lights were out in my room. The only light source was the poorly dangled new moon still trying to find its place in the night sky.
Paper rustled as my dry fingers rubbed it anxiously.
I had found her diary. What had happened to her…it was worse than I feared. With a pit of iron in my stomach, I forced myself to read on, unwillingly devouring the scrawled handwriting.
The poor child had been in much of the same position I had been in. It seems, though, that she had been born eight years before Ichigo.
Mom would have been in high school then…A freshman? My stomach sank even further.
It seems that there had only been a decade or so of happy family life before Mom had passed away. Then Ichigo had drifted into a deep depression while I took up the same mantel I had held in my time of Mom: housekeeper, errand runner, student, and much more.
In this place I had grown bitter as well over it. However, instead of meeting Rukia and using my newfound powers to free myself, this girl had had an explosive incident.
The text started to get extra hard to read in these parts, but I was able to decipher something about making a group of people around her faint.
It seems then that Isshin had taken her to Urahara to teach her how to suppress her powers. It's interesting how she writes his name in such an unfamiliar fashion, I thought absently.
The next passage was written with wider, loopier writing. She's excited here, I thought.
Shiro snored lightly on the pillow next to me, taking up the top half of the bed. I pulled the blanket over her shivering form before continuing on.
Here, she wrote about Soul Reapers, then going on to hollows, kido, and even mod souls. She was obviously so much happier than she had been before with this new secret, new power.
She writes how Urahara started to teach her kido secretly. A simple barrier spell, an attack spell, and a spell to disguise writing in the light.
This notebook was made with that spell, I saw belatedly.
The next page was crumpled. Now that I think about it…Tracing the seam of the page, I could tell that it had been fitted back together with that invisible, lightweight clear tape they sold in the 7-Eleven around the corner. This notebook does look kind of beat up.
It seems like this passage had been written later. It spoke about how Isshin had found out somehow and that he had gotten extremely mad about it and…
My eyes widened in shock.
…blamed it on her Quincy mom.
Tilting my head back until it was practically out the window, my heart rushed.
This is where she decided to run away, isn't it?
Shiro stirred, and I found myself wrapping around her for comfort. Could this…really be true?
X
Muted, shadowed sunbeam hair bounced from the night breeze. There was a unique power swirling in the air tonight.
Probably from Isshin's other brat, Shinji thought.
Reaching farther into the mash of reiatsu that the Kurosaki household had become, he was able to sense a small thread of a second reiatsu, much darker than the first.
Honing in on that power, he floated from one side of the house to the other. Noticing an open window, he came closer.
Golden finch eyes met his own. Jerking back reflexively as that single thread of black reiatsu shot out at him, he flash stepped away from where he obviously wasn't wanted.
What the hell?
X
Keeping a hand on my pale white sunhat, I stood before the Urahara Shoten as the wind toyed with my pale pink dress. I had decided to splurge on this dress earlier in the day. Isshin had left me some shopping money for clothes and such, considering my luggage hadn't survived the crash.
While it was thoughtful of him, the previous night's discovery left a bad taste in my mouth.
Thankfully, I had been able to find my rather hefty wallet in my bedside drawer this morning before I came down.
The door to the shop slid open a few moments after I knocked. "Good morning, Kurosa—"
"Koi is fine. Thank you and good morning." I slid off my sunglasses as he allowed me in the shop. "Tessai, how have you been?" I asked as I slid my shoes off.
"I've been good, thank you. It's good to see you again." Looking up at him as I slid them off to the side, I smiled back at his warm face.
"Yeah," I agreed. "I'm glad to be back," I said with a tad too much honesty. The sitting room hadn't changed since the last I'd been here, even if that had been a universe away. It tugged on me firmly, letting me relax deeply.
Hearing a yawn, I turned to watch the reclusive Kisuke approach from what I vaguely remembered as the grown ups' side of the house.
"Did I, uh…"—I made a show of looking at the fancy electronic watch on my forearm—"wake you up too early?" I teased.
"Ah, no. I've been up for a while," he politely disagreed, and I recognized the weird look he gave me at my theatrics and familiarity. I internally winced. Ah, too familiar then.
"I'll put some tea on," Tessai spoke, easily walking past and through the open sitting room.
"Have you had lunch yet?" Kisuke asked good-naturedly.
"Ah, we ate earlier. Thanks, though." I waved him off before we sat.
"I see, I see." Out came the fan to hide his face as he subtly looked me up and down. "How are you settling in?" he asked, the previous tiredness to his voice draining away as he warmed up.
"Good, good," I answered. I tried to stay vague. "It's definitely different than America." I laughed politely at the idea.
"I'll bet!" he agreed, chuckling. "You enjoyed your time overseas then?" he asked curiously. The way we were slipping into familiar banter reminded me of a deep whirlpool. I felt the currents brush up against my heart.
"I did. College was fun," I answered. Hearing a kettle start to scratch and shriek, I looked toward the kitchen. I went to ask if Tessai needed help, but Kisuke interrupted me.
"College?" he asked with surprise. "That's interesting. What did you study?"
Oh, boy. I tried to disguise my sudden quiet with another concerned look toward where I assumed the kitchen was as I tried to come up with a response.
"Honestly…I don't remember." I played with my hands as his eyes widened.
"I heard you were in an accident," he stated as Tessai emerged and placed the tea on the table. I smiled and thanked him for pouring my cup first before he joined us, sitting far more politely than the cross-legged Kisuke or my slumped self.
"Yeah." I gently touched the top of my cup, feeling how warm it was. "I don't remember that either, I'm afraid," I answered truthfully.
The conversation lulled before I changed the topic. "You seemed like you wanted me to come over," I observed vaguely.
"Yes," he answered after a long drink. "I…want to apologize for what happened. I didn't know that Isshin would have that reaction."
I looked up at him from my tea to see that he had slipped his fan away somewhere. While his eyes were hidden in the shadow of the brim of his hat, I could see a frankness to his eyes that I knew was supposed to be long gone by now.
My heart clenched. He must have felt awful all this time.
"It's okay," I assured him. "What you taught me was necessary. I was all that much safer for knowing it." The diary had revealed that at the very least.
He let it hang in the air, a charged yet calm emotion passing between our star-crossed eyes.
"I see," he eventually said. "I'm glad you feel that way." Seeking to gather his thoughts, he took another drink.
"You felt guilty all this time, didn't you?" Pity echoed in my voice.
He looked at me with surprise before the fan flicked open and obscured all but his eyes. His tone changed to a cooler, more authoritative tone that made something in me twitch. "I assume you've seen what's been going on with your little brother, Ichigo?" He changed the subject inelegantly.
I allowed him to. "Yes. I was…surprised by his asauchi." I couldn't help the fond smirk on my face at how ridiculous it was.
Tessai coughed out a polite chuckle next to me.
"Yes, it's quite unique," Kisuke agreed with a sudden joviality. "What did you think…of the girl?" he asked me sneakily.
"She seemed like a normal Soul Reaper," I answered casually. What exactly did he teach me about Soul Reapers before I left? The book went into detail with a few things only…
"I see, I see," he answered.
Hearing Tessai say my name, I looked at him. "Do you recall Jinta and Ururu? They've gotten bigger since then." He looked a mix between warm happiness of seeing me and a fatherly proudness.
"Call me Koi," I insisted again, surprising them both. "And I do. I'd love to see them again." I smiled.
X
I found myself returning home tuckered out and well fed. The kids hadn't remembered me that much, but that's okay. I remembered them plenty enough for all three of us. Jinta always cracked me up with the downright evil he got away with, and I found myself once again wanting to take Ururu under my wing, considering her mostly male family.
Kisuke was how I had remembered him before we were acquainted in the past, a self-assured teacher and a confident man. And his mischievous tricks. I giggled over remembering him slip a Japanese hot pepper into Tessai's food.
Tessai, kudos to him, didn't sweat that obviously.
It was nice to feel included in their little family.
Letting the warm feeling sink farther into me, I nestled down onto my bed. Is this how she felt, the previous me, before she left? The thought made me jealous, oddly enough.
We've been on our own a long, long time, Shiro rationalized the reaction.
"But we're back now," I told her, more myself, firmly. "We're back in the correct time."
Even if it's the wrong dimension?
I was silent.
X
The next day I was going out in search of an electronic! Electricity! tablet. I had meandered to the next town over after one of the clerks at the local store told me there was a trade show going on at the Mitakihara Sports Arena.
Almost skipping along with the memories of the previous evening playing on repeat inside me, I came to when I heard shouting around the corner.
"What do you mean?" a familiar high-pitched voice whined. "I want to be an ice cream lady!" And a sudden racket of what sounded like damage happening.
"Mashiro, stop!" A panicked deep voice made me pop out around the corner faster than I would have otherwise.
Shocked, I could only watch as Kensei dodged ice cream cones that Mashiro was filling and throwing with impressive speed.
"Leave me alone!" she cried, chef's hat almost falling off. Spilling some chocolate on her white apron as she jerked away from his incoming hand, she made an aborted throw directly into his face.
I heard the wet splat on his shirt and an immediate laugh from the fountain that stood in the center of the open area. Looking over, my eyes boggled as I saw Lisa, Love, and Shinji.
"Aim higher!" Lisa cheered Mashiro on. Kensei immediately rounded on her.
"Don't cheer her on!" he yelled. I could see a visible vein pulsating on his head.
"Heeeeeyah!" Winding up her throw, I debated whether I should evade myself as a three-scoop Neapolitan Wonder began to sail through the air.
Kensei, still arguing with Lisa who was now goading him on, could only turn to look with horror as it was much too close to dodge.
Splat!
I couldn't help the explosive laugh that shocked out of me when it detonated all over his face. Not hearing me, Kensei dramatically wiped his face before lunging into the mobile ice cream truck.
I didn't immediately see Shinji whip his head around at my laugh, too involved with watching Lisa deciding to dive in as well, but I did notice him stand and shove his hands in his pockets, walking toward me.
Mind off of the current scrap happening in the center of the public area, I blinked as he came up to me. I couldn't help my eyes from obviously looking him up and down. Did he…always dress this good? I was impressed by his black shirt and slimming slacks.
Shiro hissed loudly the closer he got.
"Hey," he greeted me, his tone lackadaisical and his face bored.
Forming a line with my lips, I tried not to look too awkward. "Hi," I answered, hand clutching at my purse.
He took obvious notice of this. "What, you think I'm going to rob a beauty like you?" He laughed, coming closer and into my bubble. Shiro, going into overdrive with her dislike of the situation, made me step back somewhat.
"Never mind…" I faltered, surprised by how both she and him were acting. "I'll get ice cream somewhere else…" I mumbled.
"Huh? You actually saw the posters?" He stopped short, incredulous.
"Hey, Shinji!" Mashiro's wailing voice made me lean to the side to look behind him. "Don't scare off all the customers again!" I could feel her reiatsu bubble up as a dramatic waterworks began. She seemed to speak to me now. "Hey, Miss, please! Have some ice cream!" She filled a chocolate cone for me easily, and I noticed Kensei had gone and was groveling next to Love, who was comforting him.
"Um, sure!" I agreed after a little hesitancy. Walking around and ignoring Shinji, I took the cone.
"Hope you like chocolate!" she told me cheekily.
"I do!" I smiled back, her attitude infectious.
"What the hell?" I heard Shinji complain from behind me.
Making my decision to move on as I saw Kensei turn to look at me, I made quick work to scuttle away before Shinji's voice stopped me.
"Hey, pretty lady!" he called out. The catcalling made my shoulders stiffen and hunch somewhat. Hearing the click of his dress shoes, I looked back at him with a schooled dull expression. "You look awfully familiar. Have we met before?" he asked me.
I forced myself to shrug. "Probably not." I turned to leave.
"Huh? That's strange. I could have sworn we met at Urahara's…" he muttered thoughtfully. I felt as if I was caught within the swell of a wave, being pulled up one way and down another. "Talking about your hollow and all that."
I felt the deceptive sudden stillness of his companions.
I shrugged again. "Couldn't say." I affirmed my answer. I felt stuck, not sure which current to follow. Don't trust him, Shiro hissed to me.
"You still got one, right? A hollow…" He looked at me evenly, the newsboy cap bellying the steely glint in his brown thresher eyes.
"Yeah, I do," I admitted. Shiro was practically rolling at this. Why are you telling him things!?
"Got it under control then?" he asked, hunching farther as his posture fell to the wayside.
Maybe it's because I'm short, I thought absently. "Better than you, I imagine," I answered sharply before turning and leaving.
Thankfully, the silent group let me go.