A/N: Quite a few to thank for the last chapter: Pure-chan, BiblioMatsui, Grimelark, KitElizaKing, Rukia'sReflection, Hidden Masked, Rabe Addler, A.M.P. 1008, SlyGuy, Dark Inu Fan, and Nocturna Mae. And thank you to anyone who put this or its author on their lists. I know it's been a long while but I was quite busy personally. I hope you all enjoy this.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha and Bleach characters, mangas, animes, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et al, and Tite Kubo et al, respectively.
Secrets Abound
Cloak and Dagger
With one hand gripping a large suitcase and the other pulling a delighted short Shinigami, Ichigo made his way through the mass of humanity that made up Haneda Airport. He ignored the dozens of questions Rukia threw at him, intent of checking in and getting through security in one piece. At least he wouldn't have to worry about getting Zangetsu or Sode no Shirayuki through the metal detectors.
Stopping in a line that winded itself to the correct airline, Ichigo took a moment to look at his companion. Irritation had lit her violet eyes with an intensity she usually reserved for battle or Chappy and he knew that he was in for some severe pain if he didn't start answering her myraid of questions. "All right, spill. What do you want to know?"
"I want to know why we had to get up before the birds were evening awake."
"Because it takes forever to get through check in and security and our flight leaves at eight in the morning. We'll be lucky to see the terminal before seven thirty. Besides, I thought you wanted to go through the full experience since it's your first time on a plane."
Rukia glared but settled for tilting her nose up at him and looking away. She was too tired to make a big deal about his treatment of her earlier just then. Later she'd get him back for dumping her out of her warm bed at three thirty in the morning.
"Hey, don't blame me, midget. I'm not the one that decided to get a flight so early in the morning at one of the busiest airports in the country. When we get on the plane, you can go back to sleep until we land in Naha."
"Well, now that I have your permission…" the petite woman began to snipe before a tantalizing smell was shoved under her nose. She stepped back briefly to focus on what was being offered and who was offering it before accepting the breakfast sandwich with gratitude. Ishida had come up behind them and saved his "enemy" from the hot temper of his small partner.
"Ishida, you're a lifesaver," the daiko breathed, accepting the other meal that was held out. The Quincy looked like he hadn't slept at all, dark blue eyes blurred behind slightly smudged glasses. The normally immaculate archer apparently had decided to provide breakfast for everyone else since he either couldn't, or wouldn't sleep the night before.
"Evidently, Kurosaki. Just be thankful and shut up. I have not had any sleep since eleven last night thanks to someone giving Keigo Asano my private number."
"Wasn't me, man. I don't even let him call me. How'd he get your number?" Ichigo took a healthy bite of food, digging out his handkerchief with his free hand when Rukia got melted cheese on her fingers.
"Ichigo, what is this?" Rukia asked, savoring the small bite she'd taken after speaking.
"It's called a breakfast sandwich. A Western food. Not exactly the healthiest thing to eat in the morning but it's better than nothing and convenient for those of us who have to get up so early. Despite lack of sleep, our Quincy friend here had a stroke of genius in the middle of the night."
"Thank Inoue-san. She offered to make us all something to eat while we waited in line but I saved us by telling her I'd already done so."
"Inoue? When did you speak to her?"
"I believe it was about four thirty this morning when I was attempting to take a shower. Apparently she had been so excited that she couldn't sleep at all." Ishida looked over his shoulder as he sensed one of their friends, smiling slightly at the ginger haired woman being led by a drowsy martial artist. Silently he held out two morning "instant" breakfasts, getting almost silent thanks in return.
Chad appeared shortly after that, accepting a sandwich silently, a large duffle over one shoulder. He murmured a greeting, his expression saying that he'd had no more sleep than anyone else. The breakfast treat was consumed in minutes, a white and blue napkin used daintily for one so big.
"Let me guess, Keigo?" Tatsuki asked, taking a swig of her coffee, sighing in relief as the caffeine began to work its magic.
"Aa…"
"Why did Keigo call you guys anyway?" Ichigo asked.
"Ichigo…!"
"Never mind," the orange haired daiko retracted, trying to ignore the flaying arms of his classmate. Thankfully there were several people in between the obnoxious teen and the rest of the group. Aside from Orihime, who looked like she was sleeping on her feet, none of the others were in a mood to put up with the younger Asano.
"I'm guessing that Arisawa-san, Asano, and Kojima were 'invited' to come as well." Rukia finished her meal, wiping her hands carefully on Ichigo's handkerchief. Folding it so that none of the grease or extraneous cheese would get on his clothes, she handed it back to the war hero, who tucked it unceremoniously into his back pocket before moving forward in the line.
"Yeah, I got home yesterday after practice and there was the invitation. I thought my parents were going to faint. I was planning on going to a tournament over vacation but Mom insisted I accept and then Orihime called and…" Tatsuki trailed off shrugging. The others knew that the healer had convinced her best friend to come.
"And I bet Keigo was so excited to be invited to a tropical island that he didn't even think of the real reasons behind the glitzy invite and Mizuiro saw it as a chance to pick up women." Ichigo plopped the heavy suitcase onto the scale and turned to speak with the airline worker. He was thankful that it hadn't taken as long as he'd thought to get through the line.
"That's my guess," his childhood friend said, digging out her ticket. She'd packed as lightly as possible but had ended up with a small suitcase anyway.
"Lovely," Ishida muttered, the next to check in. The last thing they needed was to babysit those two idiots. Arisawa could hold her own and he was certain that eventually she'd develop a real power thanks to her interaction with so many Shinigami and other powerful beings lately.
The others went through the process relatively easily, Keigo the only who got hassled and that was likely because he'd fooled around. Security was another matter entirely and the gang had to cover for Rukia, explaining to the overeager guard that she had never flown before and hadn't been aware of the procedures before that morning. By the time they got to the terminal, it was almost time to board and had anyone else had the time to look, they would have seen a group of teens nearly running towards their flight.
"I hate flying," Rukia commented, laying her head against Ichigo's shoulder with a sigh of exhaustion.
"We're not even in the air yet, Rukia. Just put on your seatbelt and turn off your Soul Pager. You can make up your mind after we've taken off."
"What's a seat belt?" she asked, rousing just enough to hear him click his tongue in disgust.
"Remind me to teach you about modern conveniences again when we get home," Ichigo grumbled under his breath. Really, her cluelessness amazed him sometimes. Reaching around her, he pulled the safety devise out from its holder and fastened it across her lap.
"Oh, these things. They were here the first time I came to the World of the Living. I didn't have a lot of time to explore, but I do remember seeing these. The people in cars wear them so that they don't fall out of the vehicle." Rukia gave him a bright smile, happy that she could tell him something about the material world that was correct and he couldn't laugh at her.
"Close enough. Now the pager. You don't want the pilot to get a wrong reading on his instruments and land us in the ocean on accident."
How could my Soul Pager interfere with those?" she asked curiously although she did as he said. She was apprehensive enough as it was about flying twenty thousand or so feet up in the air. There was no way she was adding to the possibility, no matter how slight that they would crash.
"I guess a signal meant for our phones could throw off the reading of an instrument that a pilot needs to take off and land. You'll have to ask a pilot for a real explanation."
"Oh, so the great Ichigo Kurosaki doesn't know everything."
"Never said I did, midget," he said, tapping her on the forehead. "Go back to sleep. I'll wake you when we land." The daiko smirked slightly when she did, figuring that she'd be irritated when she realized later that she'd taken orders from him. A flight attendant smiled at them as she went by and he asked for a blanket to put over Rukia's small form. The Shinigami might have ice as her Zanpakutou's element but she wasn't impervious to the cold.
"You do know that she's going to be angry at you when you wake her up in two hours." Ishida, who had the misfortune to be seated across the aisle from the pair in permanent denial cleaned off his glasses and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. If he fell asleep now, Chad would have to carry him off the plane.
"Two hours? I thought it was going to take almost five to get to the islands."
"Our destination is Kuma-jima. It takes slightly over two hours to go from Tokyo to Naha and another thirty minutes to get to the island. If you count the layover that we are going to have, then yes, I suppose it is going to take approximately five hours to reach the Kemara Islands. However, you are going to have to wake her up when we disembark." "No, I'm not. I'll simply carry her and her carryon off and let her keep snoozing. If we were going to be in the air for the length of time I first thought, then I'd wake her like I'd originally planned."
The Quincy stared at the over head compartment where Rukia had had Ichigo stow her pink, bunny covered carryon. "Remind me to take a picture." The great Shinigami daiko carrying a girl's luggage plus her would be something that several people would pay a lot to see. No doubt he could make quite the nest egg off the profits. There was also the possibility of some blackmail if the occasion warranted it in the future.
"Gee, thanks." Ichigo knew exactly why Ishida wanted the picture. "Just remember that if Byakuya got a hold of it, I'm not the only one who would feel the sharp edge of his pretty pick petals."
The archer had no come back but still contemplated the pros and cons of taking a memento. Rukia shifted, drawing his attention and he caught the softening of amber eyes as they studied the young woman. "You know, one of these days, you're going to have to confess," Ishida said conversationally, enjoying the startled glance thrown his way.
"Confess to what?" Ichigo demanded.
"Never mind," the Quincy sighed and took out a book to occupy his time.
Forget permanent denial, the two Shinigami sitting across from him were just plain oblivious.
Concealed emerald eyes watched the passengers in the business class section of the plane and narrowed when they landed on the two tails their owner had been warned about. Apparently, word had gotten around about strangers visiting the island and suspicions had been raised. It seemed that the Lady of the West hadn't been as clever as she'd thought she'd been. No doubt she'd been watched from the beginning and her spur of the moment "prize" to several lucky teens hadn't gone without notice.
Holding back the urge to curse, illusion hidden claws tapped lightly on the tray before the youkai fingers they belonged to dug out a piece of paper and a writing utensil. It was too dangerous to phone the "Substitute Group" as there was no telling how well the tails could hear even above the noise of the passengers and the engines.
Getting up clumsily from his seat, the kitsune agent stumbled a few times for effect before making his way to the bathrooms in the front of the section. After several minutes he returned, making sure to bump the shoulder of the leader and trip over his own feet for good measure. Returning to his post, he was able to pick up the grumbling of the teen, several words not for the ears of the children sitting behind him. Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick message to his adoptive father, not surprised when the answer he got back was short and to point:
Keh, your job's done. Get back here. Leave the rest to them.
Without bothering to reply, a tired Shippou closed his eyes and tried to rest. Maintaining such an elaborate cover was difficult. He hadn't had to pretend to be a kid for at least half a century. Of course, getting up at the crack of dawn hadn't helped either. Youkai or no youkai, he was a young man and he needed his sleep after a night out on the town. Not that he would complain to his uncle or father.
He rather liked the way his head sat on his shoulders.
If anyone thought it odd that a teenaged boy was carrying a girl his age through the terminal, no one said anything. Another adolescent their age was right behind them with double the normal luggage and two purses while a large young man added to the line with what appeared to be more carryon bags and making it look effortless. Others trailed and it was obvious to the few adults that weren't rushing about that spring vacation had started for some school and they'd been lucky enough to get out of the city.
A large area was cleared for them, making the tall orange haired "delinquent" scowl with irritation. A few appreciative sighs went around when some of the women noticed how gently he set a dark haired girl down but other than that, the group that stared at them didn't change their minds about the teenagers.
"You shouldn't let it get to you, Ichigo," Tatsuki said, setting down Rukia's belongings beneath the seats she was occupying.
"Che," her childhood friend replied.
"Shouldn't she have woken up by now? I can't believe she slept through getting off the plane and walking through most of the airport."
"Kurosaki has blanketed her in his reiatsu. I doubt Kuchiki-san's felt or heard anything but the faintest of movements or noises since she fell asleep," Ishida replied, watching with amusement as red crept up the daiko's neck.
"Oh, I see," the martial artist said knowingly.
"Shut up!" Ichigo hissed. "I just don't want her complaining about getting woken up again. If the midget does it on her own, then she can't blame me for disturbing her."
"Yes, I can," an alto voice muttered. Violet eyes gazed up at amber orbs, a distinctively malevolent quality to them.
"Good morning, Kuchiki-san," Ishida greeted, wondering if she was going to hit her partner.
"How long have I been asleep?" Rukia asked, nodding to the Quincy in return.
"We hadn't taken off from Haneda yet when you conked out," Ichigo told her. "Did you get enough beauty sleep?"
"Do you want her to hit you?" Tatsuki asked, taking her eyes off the duo long enough to check on Orihime. The healer had slumped against Chad's side, apparently still exhausted from her all-nighter. Keigo was contemplating taking a picture of the defenseless girl but one kick to the ribs from the other dark haired girl in the group changed his mind.
"Perhaps he likes it," Mizuiro offered, the first thing any of them had heard out of the playboy that morning.
"Like hell I do," Ichigo growled, tempted to hit his friend.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe he's on to something," the petite Shinigami teased. "Let me test that theory," she threatened, holding up a small fist. "You never did tell me exactly how long I was sleeping." "Two and a half hours, all right?" the orange haired young man snapped. "We got here a lot sooner than I thought. Right now we're in a layover. We have to wait about another two and a half hours before our flight to the island. You can go back to sleep if you want."
"Why's it called a layover?"
"I would think that's rather obvious, Rukia," her daiko grumbled, giving a small wave to the room at large. Several other people were either lying on the ground or slumped in chairs asleep. They had been waiting a lot longer than the group of teens.
"Ah."
"It simply means a break between parts of a trip in this case, Kuchiki-san," Ishida corrected. "Since we are taking two planes to our destination, the time in between them is the layover."
"I see. That makes sense, I suppose." Sitting up straighter, Rukia ran one hand over her hair, silently horrified at the mess it had become. "Ichigo, let me borrow your comb."
"Hell, no, use your brush."
"It's packed away in the suitcase."
"Why didn't you put it in your carryon or your purse?"
"Because I had to make room for other things."
"You know, midget, sometimes…" Ichigo began but dug out the needed accessory anyway. There would be time to yell at her later about commandeering his things.
"Hey, look, Ichigo does own a comb!" Keigo celebrated.
"Yes, something to cheer about," Ishida muttered, unimpressed. Glancing around, he spotted two men that were paying far too much attention to the high school students. They quickly looked away when they noticed that he'd seen them but it made the Quincy suspicious.
Slipping a hand into his pocket, he was about to bring their spectators to the others' attention when he felt a piece of paper crinkle against his hand. An almost infinitesimal trace of youki met his senses and he turned away, making sure that they couldn't see what he was doing.
Opening the paper, he was met with a crayon written message and had to squint to make out the writing:
You're being followed. Use the utmost caution until you get into the privacy of your hotel rooms.
"Is something the matter, Ishida-kun?" Orihime asked in a whisper, rubbing one eye as she woke.
"No, nothing. Arisawa-san, perhaps you should take Inoue-san and Kuchiki-san to the bathroom to freshen up a bit."
Tatsuki glanced at him in surprised. Ishida didn't usually talk to her unless it was necessary. "Sure. Come on, Hime." Rukia followed the other two girls, giving the archer an inquiring glance. He said nothing in reply until he knew whether the two tails would follow the girls or split up.
Predictably they split up and he was confident that at least one of girls would notice that they were being followed. Waiting a moment more, he passed the message secretly to Ichigo, knowing that Chad could see over the daiko's shoulder. "Ah, a note from my old man. Stupid goat chin."
"Ichigo," Chad said, as if to scold him.
"Aa," he returned, having caught the unique energy signature. "I'll have to thank him when I get home."
"What did it say?" Keigo inquired.
"The usual. Something stupid about not getting Rukia pregnant since we were going to be all alone."
"But you and she aren't going out."
"That's not what he thinks. He's an idiot, I thought you knew that," Ichigo continued as if everything was normal.
"That's no way to treat your elders, Ichigo," Mizuiro put in. He'd seen the serious look Ishida had had when he'd read the note the first time but didn't point out that the piece of paper had originally come from dark haired boy's pocket. It was obviously something far more serious than Ichigo was making it out to be but also knew that now was not the time to ask for an explanation.
"Yeah, well, you don't live with this 'elder.'"
"True."
Keigo shrugged, all interest in the note gone. "Huh, I wonder what's taking the girls so long."
"They're girls, Keigo. And there are three of them so obviously things are going to take three times as long as it should. Just leave them alone. They'll come back eventually.
They did eventually come back; escorted by two security guards and an apologetic public relations clerk. By the actions of the fourth, the girls were evidently the victims, not the troublemakers. "Ichigo!" Rukia cried, fake tears making her violet eyes seem a lot larger and more vulnerable than they usually were. She ran to him and he automatically put his arm around her without questioning her acting.
"What happened?" he demanded, feeling the Shinigami in his embrace tremble with laughter. To an outsider it would look like he was comforting her not hiding her amusement.
"Some jackass attacked Kuchiki-san on our way into the ladies' room," Tatsuki explained. "Don't worry, I gave him a beating he won't forget anytime soon."
"I see," Ichigo commented, at a lost for words. The tail had probably been the culprit and he almost felt sorry for the guy, although he had likely gotten off with a far less beating from the martial artist than he would have had Rukia actually defended herself.
"We need her to make a statement but Kuchiki-san refused to go anywhere without her boyfriend," one of the officers said, looking at the orange haired man holding the still crying girl. "I take it that's you."
"Yes, they are together," Ishida said, pinching Keigo when he would have contradicted him. "Why don't we all go? There is still time before our next flight and I'm sure that the girls would be more comfortable if we were with them," the archer continued.
"As you wish, sir."
They were half way to the airport security office when they were suddenly pulled into a private corridor and led to a private plane hanger. "What now?" Keigo exclaimed.
"Contingency plans, sir," the second officer said. "Your bags have been switched to a private plane that is owned by His Majesty. We were informed by Lord Shippou that something dangerous might occur so we were just waiting for the opportunity to arise to get you out of the mainstream. The second tail has already left the airport, not wanting to be associated with his partner. They'll never know exactly when you got to the island."
"This feels all very cloak and dagger, Ichigo. Maybe you should explain what is going on," the playboy said.
"Sure, if I knew what was going on."
"I'm afraid that explanations will have to wait until you are with her ladyship. His majesty's mother is the only one with the clearance to tell you what is going on. Please wait just a bit longer, Asano-san," the first guard offered.
"I knew this was too good to be true," Tatsuki grumbled.
"I'm sorry, Tatsuki-chan, I thought I told you we had been invited by the Taishos," Orihime apologized.
"No, somehow, that seemed to have slipped your mind. Oh, well. At least I got to use some of my karate."
"I'm sure that you'll be using a lot more in the near future, Arisawa-san," the taller of the two guards said. "Is Kuchiki-san truly all right?"
"I'm fine, sir," Rukia answered, moving away from Ichigo. She wiped tears of mirth away from her eyes and smiled at the one asking out of concern. "I believe that's the most fun I've had acting in ages."
"That's the first time it hasn't completely sucked too," Ichigo muttered. Rukia still heard him and he got a bruised shin for his trouble. "Why, you little…" "Kurosaki-kun, how could you?" she asked in her fake "school girl" voice. "Don't I mean anything to you at all?" Ichigo didn't answer, merely ruffled her hair to annoy her. The normality of the moment relaxed the others and they temporarily forgot what had happened.
There was only so much cloak and dagger they could handle at once.