Hey, welcome back! Sorry this took as long as it did.

Once again, I do not own Bleach or its characters; nor do I make money from this fan-made fiction.

Table Talk


The gate area at the amusement park looked like it belonged to a seasonal fair, but the park hadn't moved in over a decade and even had permanent rides and structures; the galvanized fencing keeping the in and out flow of people separate had only begun to rust after at least ten years. People young to old attended, dressed in all manner of styles from formal kimonos to modern, casual clothing. Ichigo and his sisters, dressed normally, slowly approached the gate; all three looking for one more person.

"Ichigo!" a happy, energetic and feminine voice called out.

They all turned to see who called his name and Ichigo smiled as he saw Senna run towards them. She was wearing a stylish pleated skirt with a black t-shirt under an open cropped, jean jacket. She wore a matching jean newsboy cap. She hopped into him and was caught in a hug. "Hey Senna," he warmly said.

"B-brother, who is this?" Yuzu asked. She knew one of Ichigo's friends was coming, but she didn't know which one. Worse yet, she had never even heard of this girl. And why was Ichigo smiling? He never did that.

Ichigo gave Senna a quick peck on the lips and let her feet touch down. "Yuzu, Karin, this is Senna: my girlfriend."

Yuzu panicked. "A-a girlfriend, since when?"

Senna took a step towards the fraternal twins and bowed in front of them, remembering what Ichigo had told her about their hair colour: Karin's was black and Yuzu's a light brown. "It's nice to meet you Karin, Yuzu"—she shook their hands—"as Ichigo said, I'm Senna: his girlfriend. I'm excited to meet you two; I hope we get along."

Yuzu turned to face Ichigo while Karin greeted Senna back. "How could you not tell us?" Yuzu demanded. "And how long has this been going on?

If she was trying for a stink-eye, Ichigo didn't react to it. "Sorry Yuzu," he replied, "I didn't want to say anything too soon because we didn't want dad to find out yet. It's why I took you guys out instead of bringing Senna home. Can you keep it a secret from him?"

Yuzu put her hands on her hips. Ichigo hadn't even apologized to her yet: the audacity! "How long have you been dating?"

"Three weeks," he replied, not even pausing to think about it.

Yuzu's jaw dropped. How could her beloved brother secretly date some unknown girl behind her back for... "Three... three..."

Thankfully Karin seemed to know exactly what to do, pushing Yuzu along with the crowd and through the gates as Ichigo payed for them—Senna already had the yearly pass. "C'mon, sister, we have an amusement park to conquer."

They made it to the first ride before Yuzu made a realization. "Karin," she said with a slightly unnerving clarity, "how long did you know?"

"A few days. Ichigo told me to keep it secret."

"But we're twins! Wait, how many other things are you hiding from me?"

Karin turned Yuzu around by the shoulders. "Nothing worth worrying about."

"Kariiin~" Yuzu yelled, her heels dragging as she was pushed into closing the gap that had formed in the line. "I'm telling dad!"

"Well, if we're telling dad things, I could talk about your feelings for—"

Yuzu quickly covered Karin's mouth. "Fine, fine. I won't tell dad. When did you become such a meanie?"

"There's a boy you like?" Ichigo asked.

Yuzu's eyes shot open for a moment and her voice was strained. "No, no I don't!" She glared at Karin until they got into the ride's seats.

As soon as everyone was strapped in, the ride's arms lifted the carriages and began to spin them around while the structure itself rotated. Ichigo was unimpressed but Karin enjoyed it enough; Senna and Yuzu joyfully cheered. When the ride was over, everyone got off and the next ride to be conquered was already in sight: a small roller coaster.

Between the rides, they tried their respective hands at various mini games like catching goldfish and throwing hoops onto bottles. There was even a water gun target shooter. No one really won anything until they got to a basketball hoop shooting game, where Ichigo showed off why the basketball club in high school was one of many that payed him to play for them. Soon Yuzu had a stuffed turtle, Karin had a new cap, and Senna attached her keys to a brand new chrome, wolf-shaped key fob.

They day had been enjoyable so far, and the only ride left to go on was what Ichigo knew would be her favourite: the Ferris wheel. This particular Ferris wheel was five stories tall and had enclosed pods, and the lineup showed its popularity; they would spend the next fifteen minutes chatting before it was their turn.

Yuzu and Karin got on first and only noticed they were alone when the door closed as Ichigo and Senna waved to them while waiting for the next pod. "Karin!" Yuzu panicked.

"Don't worry about it, sis. Sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."

"But that man is our brother!"

"Stop being so jealous."

"Karin!"

"Am I wrong?"

Yuzu crossed her arms and looked away as she pouted with a 'Mou!'

"Come on, Yuz, enjoy the view."


"So," Ichigo began, "how has today been?"

"Karin and Yuzu are awesome. I'm sure they'll be great aunts some day... but I have missed being able to kiss you without scrutiny."

Ichigo laughed a bit. "Well, we're alone right now."

"Great idea."

The two stopped kissing as their pod got to the top and they looked out. Senna knew this view, she had experienced it many times, but with Ichigo by her side it didn't need to be sunset for everything to glow warmly. Ichigo had done this a few times, and the view was always nice, but like every time before it was more about who he was with. He adored watching Senna take in the view, and then his heart skipped a beat when she looked for his approval and her eyes took him in. He leaned down and she met him half way, both trying to drink in as much as they could.

"You know," came Karin's amused voice, "some other people want their chance to use this pod to do that."

Ichigo and Senna stopped and had the decency to look embarrassed, especially when the next people to board, a couple, both winked at them. Yuzu did her best to glare at them for several minutes before they all left the amusement park and headed for the mall.

Ichigo was enjoying not being around crowds, the sidewalks and streets in this part of town having sparse traffic. His arm was around Senna as Karin and Yuzu walked in front of him, but he noticed Yuzu's shoulders were a bit slumped. "You okay, Yuzu?"

Yuzu sighed and shook her head. "I'm fine."

Karin thought it would be best to get Yuzu out of her melancholy. "Oh, don't be so sour, Yuz; you can't hog Ichigo forever."

Yuzu's cheeks heated in indignation. "I-It's not that. I just... hoped it would be someone we knew better." That was a partial truth.

Senna picked up her pace and placed a hand on Yuzu's shoulder, getting her attention and causing everyone to stop walking. "Would you like to go on a girl's day out; just the three of us?"

Yuzu stopped walking and contemplated the idea. "I... I don't know." Senna had been great so far—though often distracted with Ichigo—but they had only just met so could she be trusted this soon?

Karin answered in her stead. "She means we would love to."

"Awesome, where do you two like to hang out?"

"At home," Yuzu said, preventing Karin from owning this part of the discussion.

"Yuzu," Karin interjected, "we're trying not to let dad know."

"It'll be fine. We can introduce her as a new friend from school."

Karin's eye twitched, then looked up to see that Senna was thinking over the idea. "Okay... that might work. But why at home?"

Yuzu, with a smile just a little bit too sweet, determinedly used her fist as a gavel upon her open hand. "Because every girl Ichigo knows needs to visit our house before I approve them."

Karin felt some sweat fall down the back of her neck. "Uh, mind turning down the stalker vibes, Yuz?"

Senna, however, didn't seem to notice and happily accepted. "Sounds like a plan!"

Ichigo understood most of what was being said, but there was a subtext he identified he just couldn't figure out. Still, there was one issue. "Do I need to be out of the house then?"

"That would be for the best," Yuzu said thoughtfully. "Can you visit Keigo?"

Senna suddenly remembered something. "Oh"—she turned to Ichigo—"my dad wants to meet with you, so maybe you can talk to him then?"

"Your dad wants to talk with me?"

Senna nodded. "He thinks it would help if you two were able to talk without me 'distracting' you." She had gestured the quotes and smiled.

Ichigo took a moment to think it over. "Sure," he said. Then he smiled deviously. "And for the record,

you're the main attraction." He moved in for the kiss.

Senna reciprocated and had a smug grin on her face. "You know it." She went for another.

Yuzu was beet-red and Karin called out. "Alright, alright, pick a more private place. Any more and poor Yuzu's gonna faint."

Ichigo chuckled and Senna giggled before they both took a side and gently nudged Yuzu forward and headed for the next stoplight.


A few days later Ichigo was helping Senna with her homework as he did his own. She took the white desk and he took her bed, with biology and basic anatomy textbooks lain open across the purple comforter. Once they finished, they prepared a meal together in the kitchen with plastic tile floors and dark grey cabinetry that looked just out of date with the times.

They worked together to cook battered shrimp, vegetables and fried rice, which made for a tasty meal, even if it only took a third of the prep time to eat it all. Topics of conversation this night included how they saw their dating, what they thought of marriage, and having children in the future. Both were on the same page, even for the general honeymoon plans, though confirmations on any specific locations would be left to once either Ichigo or Senna—if she got impatient enough—proposed.

"I've always wanted to visit Paris," Senna said.

Ichigo smiled as he got up from his seat and kissed the top of Senna's nose. "We'll see," he teased, picking up her empty plate and bringing it to the sink. Senna followed him.

"So," Ichigo began as he washed the first plate, "homework's been dealt with and we've got the house to ourselves until I have to leave?"

Senna took the freshly washed plate from Ichigo and began to dry it with a towel. "Yup. Care to watch a movie? I want to cuddle."

He picked up the next plate, got it wet and applied the dish soap. "Sounds good. By the way, has your dad stopped interrogating you after every date?"

Senna harshly sighed, placing the dry plate into the cupboard. "Not yet."

The other plate was now full of suds from Ichigo's scrubbing. "Still thinks I'm a bad influence?"

"I wish he would let it go. It's not like he'd believe the truth, and I don't know how he'd handle it even if he did."

"Yeah, but I still don't get some of it. I'm not exactly taking you to a love hotel." He handed the plate to Senna.

Senna chuckled. "Not yet," she said conspiratorially. There were so many rumours around that kind of venue both she and Ichigo expressed interest in visiting one during a potential honeymoon.

Ichigo smiled teasingly and kissed Senna's forehead. "Careful, he might have this place bugged."

Senna chuckled again, waving her free hand in the air in dismissal. "He wouldn't go that far." She put the plate away.

"I don't know, he still follows our dates. I'm surprised he left us alone this time."

"Mom knows how to reign him in. So, what're we watching?"

A few minutes later the movie—an action, romance anime—was playing on a large CRT television that sat across from the brown leather couch. To one side was the kitchen and to the other was the entry hall. Eventually Senna, who was sitting in Ichigo's lap, looked over her shoulder and initiated a chaste kiss, which turned into several over the course of the next hour, initiated by both sides. As the movie wound down, the kisses got longer and eventually they were mid-kiss when Kai stormed in on them.

"Senna, Ichigo, what are you doing?" His voice was serious and accusatory.

They hastily ended the kiss and looked up, confused.

"Kissing," Ichigo replied.

"Ichigo, go home. Senna, you're grounded."

Senna's eyes went wide. "Wait, what? What did I do?"

"You know what you did. Both of you."

Senna's brows furrowed. "No, I don't. What did we do?" She was going to fight for this.

Unfortunately Kai ignored her altogether. "You're not allowed to see Ichigo for a month."

"Hold up," Ichigo interrupted. "I don't know what you think we did, but grounding Senna without letting her know why is insane."

"Ichigo, go."

Ichigo protectively wrapped his arms around Senna. "No way. I want to know what I did wrong, too. That way we can't be tricked into being the bad guys again."

"That's not important."

"The hell you mean, 'not important'?" Then he followed Kai's eyes as they momentarily darted to the built-in bookshelf. "A camera? You bastard, you're still spying on us!"

"Ichigo," Senna interrupted, "I get that you're angry; I am too. But that doesn't mean you should call my dad a bastard."

"Then what do I call him? He's about to ground you for something he won't tell you about, and you didn't do anything wrong. Only a bastard does that."

"Ichigo, please."

Ichigo stopped, seeing that Senna was on the verge of tears, and took a breath; though he did not relax. He calmly helped Senna off his lap and got up, walking past Senna's confused mother as he approached the front door. Then he stopped. This was running away; what kind of person was he to run away from his girlfriend just because she was asking him not to insult her dad? Slowly, he turned around and went back to the living room and calmly said "Hey" to get everyone's attention. Senna was currently being hugged by her mother, Amaya.

"Ichigo," Kai said, "you've done enough tonight; you need to go home."

"Can we talk?" he replied, his voice completely calm. "No insults, no raised voices, just talk. I want to know what's going on, and I don't want to leave Senna alone like this."

"I said—"

"Kai," Amaya interrupted, an unimpressed look upon her face as she stared up to her husband while still comforting Senna, "let's hear Ichigo out. You haven't exactly been yourself tonight."

Kai hated this, but based on Amaya's reaction, he had stepped across the line he thought he had successfully skirted. "Fine, we can talk." He motioned to the kitchen.

They all sat down around the black, circular table and Amaya took it upon herself to mediate and initiate the discussion. "So, what happened, Kai?"

"I caught Ichigo and Senna making out in Ichigo's lap."

Amaya's eyes narrowed. "Is that why you were grounding Senna?" It didn't seem like something worth banning Ichigo for a month.

Kai hesitated before letting out a terse "Yes".

Amaya didn't think that was right, but she also didn't remember what was allowed. "Senna, did your father or I ever say that wasn't allowed?"

"No," Senna said; it was clear she was a bit angry.

"I see. Ichigo, why did you call my husband a 'bastard'?"

"What he did wasn't right: neither Senna nor I knew what we did wrong; we just got yelled at. And when Senna got grounded, he refused to explain, and then I saw the camera in your bookshelf. He set us up."

Amaya's eyes opened wide for a moment; she had forgotten about the cameras since it had been a few years. "Kai, is that the camera we installed for cheaper insurance?" Her eyes narrowed. "Dear, that isn't why you suddenly decided to hurry home, was it?" She recalled there was an app that would let them see what was happening in real time from anywhere.

Kai took a breath and straightened his back, the chair creaking slightly. "It... may have influenced my decision."

"Were Ichigo and Senna undressing? Was Ichigo forcing himself upon her?"

Kai sighed in defeat. "No."

Amaya sighed in exasperation. "Kai, I believe we agreed those cameras wouldn't be used to police Senna."

Kai closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You're right. I'm sorry Amaya; I'm sorry Senna."

Amaya glared at Kai. "Dear, you're forgetting someone."

Kai swallowed hard. "I'm... sorry... Ichigo."

"And Ichigo, no more calling my husband a 'bastard' or anything like it." Amaya didn't have Captain Unohana's ability to smile someone into submission, but that didn't mean she lacked the ability to look at someone and get a favourable response.

"I won't." He then turned to Senna. "Sorry, Senna, I should have listened to you the first time."

Senna gave him a small but comforting smile. "Apology accepted. I know dad hasn't been easy on you, and even I'm angry about it."

Amaya smiled when Senna offered her hand and Ichigo gently took it. But still, there was unfinished business. "I feel now would be a good time to set some ground rules, right Kai?"

"You're right," he said, seemingly recovered from his wife's earlier scolding. He looked as Senna. "No sitting on Ichigo's lap and all kisses must be chaste."

"Now hold on a second," Senna said, "that's not fair. I want to be able to cuddle with Ichigo, and the furthest we've gone is what you saw us doing. I don't think that's unreasonable."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to believe you haven't gone further?"

"Yes, I do. Ichigo's actually pretty conservative when it comes to these things: he wants to be a good role model for his sisters, so he wants to wait until marriage. Just like you taught me to do. Besides," she continued, voice souring, "you have cameras, don't you? You won't find anything scandalous."

Kai visibly winced at the jab.

"Dear," Amaya added, "if all they want to do is cuddle and kiss, why not let them? It's nothing we didn't do when we dated."

Kai sighed and rubbed his forehead as he slid his chair back an inch. "It's not the cuddling and kissing, it's—"

A heavy thud on the table drew everyone else's attention to Senna, who was glaring at her father.

"It's Ichigo, isn't it? You just can't stand him for some reason." She decided she wasn't going to let this end without an answer. "What did he do?"

"Senna, you shouldn't—"

"And you shouldn't deflect! Do you have a good reason or not? What did Ichigo do?"

Kai was about to punish Senna for her attitude against him, but when he looked to Amaya for support, he found her stared him down, forcing him to give an answer instead. "Because I want to protect you, Senna."

"From what?"

Kai tried hard not to let the stress get to him. "From the danger he's putting you in."

"Danger?" She couldn't believe it. "What danger, dad?"

Kai seemed hesitant, but Amaya gently put her hand on his arm and pressed him further.

"Ichigo has a history with a lot of violence. He got into fights and often disappeared during high school. Some of his friends were involved, and one of the girls he was with disappeared into thin air before he graduated."

"You investigated me?" Ichigo asked. He was surprised, even though, in retrospect, he shouldn't have been.

Kai raised an eyebrow. "You expect me not to?"

Ichigo stared Kai down, his scowl intensifying. "I expect the chief of police to not abuse his authority, especially since I've never been convicted of anything. I thought you were more reasonable than the stereotype."

Kai almost reeled at that. Police didn't have the best image when it came to fair treatment of people they thought were criminals, and he supposed, this time, it was to his shame.

"But," Ichigo continued, "since you're so curious, I'll tell you. My hair often got the attention of the wrong people, and I didn't want to dye it. People thought I was a delinquent, and treated me as such. My temper wasn't great at the time, and I don't like bullies, so I finished off some fights they started."

"If that's the case," Kai replied, "why wasn't Senna bullied for her hair; it's just as unusual as yours."

"Dad," Senna interjected, "I don't think that's a fair thing to say. You're a cop. The school didn't want to deal with you and paid special attention to anyone bugging me. Do you remember what I said about Mieko Jin?"

Kai shook his head. "Should I?"

Senna looked down into the table. "She had blonde hair, and one day some of the other girls in school cut it off in the bathroom with safety scissors. She cried for an hour and no one even got detention." She looked back into her father's eyes. "Everyone who tried to hurt or bully me got detention for it."

Kai was genuinely troubled. Schools should be a safe place, and to know the staff was more concerned with appearances than the actual children was disturbing. "I see." Still, there was more he needed to know, so he turned to Ichigo. "And what about your frequent disappearances?"

"I had a few run-ins with a couple of viruses that gave me frequent diarrhea. You should know this."

Kai did know, but he was sure there was something more. "And Rukia Kuchiki? There's no record of her existence, but your entire class rememberd her when they talked about you."

"You called my classmates?"

"A few of them." He avoided the ones who were particularly close to Ichigo.

Ichigo shook his head in disappointment. "She transferred-in as a student late one semester and left for another school before the semester finished. She lives out of the country now."

"Can you prove it?"

Ichigo sighed, then pulled out his cellphone, flipping it open before dialing a number. It rang twice before a female voice responded. "Ichigo, what's up? You never call."

"Hey Rukia, can you do me a favour?"

"What kind of favour?"

"My girlfriend's dad thinks I did something bad to you. I need you to vindicate that I didn't murder you or something."

There was silence from Ichigo's phone before Rukia could be heard beginning to laugh; she did so for well over a minute. "What kind of idiot would think you'd try to hurt me? I lived in you closet for over two months and you didn't even try to peep on me. For a short while I thought you were gay. Wait: girlfriend's dad, who are you dating?" Orihime was practically an orphan.

"Her name is Senna, we met several weeks ago."

"Hi Rukia," Senna said enthusiastically, "Ichigo's told me a lot about you; it's nice to finally meet you."

"Wait," Rukia exclaimed, "I'm on speaker? Ichigo, you fool, tell me these things! Ugh..." She cleared her throat spoke less casually. "Hello Senna, it's nice to meet you, too. Ichigo's not being a bother, is he?"

"Oi!" Ichigo interjected, crossing his arms. His chair creaked from the movement.

Senna giggled, her elbows now both on the table as she paid special attention. "He's been a perfect gentleman."

"Good, good. Just kick him in the shins whenever he gets moody. So, how'd you two meet?" It sounded like she slid a door shut.

Senna described the double date, how Ichigo ended up joining by mistake, and how they immediately clicked.

"That's so cute, like something out of a novel! I wish you both happiness. So, is your father there?"

"I've listened to everything," Kai said, unhappy the number Ichigo dialed was not only foreign, but also that there was a voice to prove him wrong. It would take more effort to keep Senna safe.

"Then you should know I have nothing but respect and admiration for Ichigo. He's saved my life more than once, and you won't find a more self-sacrificing guy."

"I see." Kai asked a few questions to verify things lined up with what he knew of Rukia, but eventually the call ended and he sat in silence. After a minute he sighed, feeling older than he ever had. "Senna, if you want to finish the movie you were watching, go ahead. Amaya, I'm going to head to my office." He got up from his chair and began to walk away.

Amaya got up and moved beside Kai, placing a loving kiss on his cheek. "I'll join you." She called out to Ichigo and Senna as they walked past the kitchen. "Enjoy the movie you two."

Ichigo was once again on the sofa, Senna in his lap, and the two continued playing the movie, though it was mostly background noise. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer and spoke softly in her ear. "Again, sorry for not listening to you, Senna."

"You're forgiven. I'm just glad you came back."

"You're worth it."

Senna felt a warm fluttering inside her chest and loosened Ichigo's grip so she could turned around and access Ichigo's lips for a passionate response; then she hugged him until the movie was over. His hand soothing her back was just a cherry on top.


Tatsuki was in Orihime's dorm, visiting once more. Orihime hadn't even been able to ask Ichigo to a cafe to talk, not because she didn't ask this time, but because Ichigo always had somewhere to be during the past week and a half. They were supposed to meet in Karakura on the weekend, but that was with Senna joining them.

The two were brainstorming ideas to get Ichigo alone and away from Senna, but so far nothing had come to mind.

Orihime sighed and reminisced about the time she almost kissed Ichigo. If only she had the courage. If only she knew then what she knew now. "If only there were five of me... then maybe one of us would have gotten to Ichigo first."

Tatsuki put her arm around Orihime. "Hang in there, Hime. There may not be five of you, but you only need one... say, that gives me an idea."

"What kind of idea?"

A wicked smile grew upon Tatsuki's face. "We just need to give Ichigo an offer no man could refuse."


A/N:

Wow, editing this took way longer than I thought. I don't really have any thoughts about my writing other than "I plan to get the next chapter out much faster." I do happen to have several stories on the go but this one is my focus in terms of publishing. I can't wait for this one to be done to get the next one out.

If you liked it or didn't like this chapter, or just have some thoughts you wish to share, please consider leaving a review or sending me a PM.

Anyway, to anyone who was following my health, I can say the MRI came out clean, which means I still don't know for sure what it is, but it's probably nothing super dangerous (or so my doctor said). With that said, I've been waking up sleepy for almost 2 weeks now so it's back to the doctor I go to deal with something else.

Life is certainly not without it's challenges.

Have a great 'until next time' and God bless you,

SomethingAncient


(Again, that was my sign-off for those not interested in what comes next.)

So I've been witness to a real miracle, and it reaffirms (but is not the source of) my belief that God always provides to the faithful. It may not be what I want, but it will be what I need. And sometimes that need is immediate. Back when I was a teenager, my dad was on disability (fractured spine) and my mom was working. Half her income would be deducted from my dad's pay, but we hadn't needed help in over 8 months and things were looking up. We even had enough money to drive 40 minutes to our church every Sunday.

This particular month was looking like we'd be ahead for once with my dad's check, which was good because we had one can of tomato soup left to eat. It was a close call, because my mom's next check wasn't until the following week. My dad gets his check and my mom gets her coat on to go to the grocery store when he opens it to find out he was getting $0.00. Apparently my mom had made too much money the month before and some other bureaucratic stuff happened. This meant that half her pay was still taken and my dad got nothing, which meant we had one can of tomato soup for the next week to feed a family of five.

My parents were crushed, and then immediately my mom says something about asking our church for help. Before we had the chance to let anyone know, not even 3 minutes after my dad opened the envelope, a knock is heard on the door 10 feet behind us. I open the door and no one was there. We had a deep, old, gravel driveway and there was no thrown up dust or other evidence of a vehicle being there. A slow moving 90s Toyota Camry was already too far down the road to have come from our driveway. I was wondering who could have knocked and look around the house before my mom comes outside asks who it was. I said I didn't know, and wondered who it could be because we lived in a rural location. My mom decided to check the mailbox in case the person left something there. They did.

Inside, with no name or identification, was an envelope. Inside that envelope was a $200.00 Superstore gift card. We hadn't needed anything for almost a year and didn't even get the chance to ask for help when someone managed to knock and get away from the house and drop off what we needed for the week. I firmly believe it to be an angel, for no human was capable of that feat, foreknowledge and timing.

Later