Keep in mind that these are the Bleach and Inuyasha worlds with a slight twist (which is why certain things are able to happen).

Enjoy!

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Auburn Strands and Red Threads #2

When school started again, Orihime had almost forgotten about the boy from the days before. It was an unusual occurrence, but unusual occurrences happened from time to time, and she couldn't possibly keep track of every single one.

She did, however, occasionally remember him every time she looked at the pink crystal on her desk.

Something about it bugged her, and she wondered if it belonged to the Soul Society in some way. She sensed a special kind of energy coming from it, but it was like she couldn't actually sense anything at all. If anything, it was like sensing a presence from somewhere in the distance while being disoriented. Or maybe it was more like sensing a presence in front of you while your eyes were closed, and when you opened them, nothing was there.

The feeling of a presence without a presence being there.

Either way, she figured she'd go to Kisuke's shop after school.

The thought came to her randomly, completely out of the blue, and she's been stuck on the idea ever since. He did have a shop that specialized in all things not of The World of the Living, so, honestly, who better to ask about the crystal than him? She couldn't face asking Ichigo for help—not after how she wouldn't even let him into her apartment—and she couldn't go to Rukia either because she might tell him.

No, it was out of the question.

The auburn girl put it out of her mind once again. No use dwelling on it. If anything, she should be focusing on what was going on at school today because, if truth be told, once she walked into the building, she had forgotten where she had intended to go. She had been walking the halls for five minutes with her mind jumping from here to there, but not getting anywhere.

"Orihime!"

She turned around and saw Chizuru running down the hall. "Hi, Chizu-" And was promptly tackled to the ground by her friend's hugs.

"My sweet, Orihime!" Chizuru gushed as she rubbed their faces together. "It's been so long! I've missed you!"

"Calm down!" Tatsuki grunted, coming from the opposite direction and kicking Chizuru in the stomach with such swiftness and ease that Orihime had been shocked as to why the red-haired girl suddenly became rigid. "It's only been the weekend."

"Y-you're so heartless." Chizuru held her stomach and rolled off of Orihime. Tatsuki helped Orihime to her feet.

Orihime smiled. "Thank you, Tatsuki."

"No problem. How was your weekend?"

"It was good! We didn't have a lot of homework, so I slept a lot. I even found some new recipes to try out."

"New recipes, huh?" Tatsuki forced a smile. "Knowing you, I bet they'll come out . . . uh, very interesting."

"I hope so," she beamed. She looked down the hall, and her attention was caught by orange, spiky hair. "Ah, Kurosaki-kun!"

He looked in her direction, and she now saw Rukia with him, too.

She waved. "Good morning! And good morning to you, too, Rukia-chan!"

Orihime and Tatsuki walked over to them. They noticed Ichigo had been spending a lot of time with Rukia lately. Tatsuki worried over how Orihime would take this new-found friendship, seeing how close Rukia and Ichigo appeared to be and how much Orihime liked Ichigo. To Tatsuki's surprise, it didn't seem like her friend was bothered by it, but this was Orihime she was talking about. She never seemed bothered by much—or, at least, not things that would make sense.

In truth, Orihime did find the amount of time they spent together troublesome, but Orihime put it off as being unreasonable. When it came to fighting Hollows, the two of them were a pair—a highly effective pair. That was a fact that couldn't be helped. It only made sense that they would grow closer; protesting such a natural event would be foolish . . .

"Morning, Orihime-chan." Rukia smiled. "Morning, Tatsuki-chan."

"Yo," Tatsuki replied.

"Inoue, I was just thinking about you," Ichigo said.

Orihime faltered. "R-really?"

"Yeah. I think one of my books is still at your house. Do you mind if I come by to get it after school?"

"Ah! Um, do you need it today?"

"No, not really."

"Oh, I could just stop by your house. I have to go out anyway."

"Sure, that can work," he agreed. "Any time works."

"Okay, I'll-"

There was a rumbling sensation that over took Orihime, Rukia, and Ichigo. If Tatsuki felt it then it was minor in comparison to the other three. There must have been a Hollow nearby and a big one, at that. Rukia and Ichigo looked at each other.

"We'll catch you guys later," Ichigo said hurriedly as he and Rukia ran down the hall.

"Ichigo!" Tatsuki yelled. "Where are you going?! Class starts in five minutes!"

"It's okay, Tatsuki," Orihime said. "He'll be back."

Tatsuki huffed. Ichigo coming back was never the problem. It was times like these—times where Ichigo ran off with Rukia—that any reassurance she had concerning Orihime and her being okay with this was dashed. "You don't like it, do you?"

Orihime looked at her friend with wide, naive eyes. "Don't like what?"

"How the two of them are always rushing off like that."

"Don't be silly." Orihime smiled. "That's got nothing to do with me."

The raven haired girl frowned. Her friend was too submissive.

"Don't worry, my sweet Orihime," Chizuru said as she snaked her arms around Orihime's body. "Who needs men when we have each other? I'll never run off with someone else."

Tatsuki smiled viciously. "Let go before I help you."

"You can't damper love like mine, you little tomboy!" the red-head sang.

Tatsuki cracked her knuckles.

o0o0o

After school, Orihime decided to walk home alone.

Her friends offered to tag along, but she told them she was going to stop by a shop first. She hadn't exactly lied because she was going to stop by a shop, but it wasn't first. She just needed time to herself. She didn't like it when Tatsuki asked her about her thoughts on Ichigo and Rukia; it made her feel and think things she didn't like to feel or think.

Ichigo was entitled to hang out with whomever he wanted, and it's not like he hadn't had female friends before. There was Tatsuki and herself and . . . Chizuru?

Well, maybe there weren't many, so it was good that he had more. It was just . . . Why did he have to hang out with Rukia so much? Yes, they were Soul Reapers and they had to stop the Hollows, but even before class, after class, and non-school days they were together. After they all saved Rukia, the two only grew closer.

It was like all his time revolved around being with her.

This was not the main thing that bothered her, but it did bother her. She wished Ichigo would find time for himself so . . . so she could feel like he was an approachable person again. She missed the days where she would catch him by himself, avoiding other people if he could, and start a small conversation with him. She missed when he was with his male friends, and she missed seeing him just being the Ichigo she-

She shook her head, letting the thought fall away from her.

It was okay, though. The way he was now, it was okay. He was expressive around Rukia, and if he was happy then she was . . . she was . . .

"I am," she said softly. Whatever she was, she agreed with it.

She had not gotten far from the school when she began passing people who were rushing away from the direction she was going. They looked unnerved, if not a little disturbed.

"He's so weird," a guy said to a girl he was walking with.

"He's dressed so strange and now- Look!" a girl whispered to her group of friends. "He's sniffing the ground!"

Orihime looked at each person that passed her and wondered what they were talking about. She didn't understand how an oddly dressed person who was sniffing the ground could get reactions like these.

Curious to see the source of all the fuss, and eager to go to Kisuke's shop, Orihime walked a little faster.

He was extremely frustrated with himself, but, more than anything, he was frustrated with his predicament.

That girl had taken the jewel shard from him, and he had no idea where to find her. Because he decided not to get involved with her from the beginning, he had not fully distinguished her scent from anyone else in this era. He knew it was similar to Kagome's but sweeter.

Or maybe it was a stronger smell than Kagome's?

A smell that reminded him of a flower but smelled like a fruit?

Or was it . . . more than one fruit?

Yes, it was apple and . . . something else.

Whatever! He'd know it once he caught a whiff of it.

As if forgetting that girl's scent wasn't bad enough, he had no idea where she lived or the general area. This was certainly a blunder on his part. He'd been in this world for three days now trying to find that shard. He had thought about asking Kagome to help him find it, but when she asked him about the shard he claimed to have found, he told her that he had forgotten he took it back to the Feudal Era. He couldn't possibly own up to the mistake he had made.

Not to her.

So here he was, sniffing this whole damn town trying to get a hint of a hint of that girl's scent. There were not many pleasant smells to begin with, so it was a bewildering experience. Why was it so difficult to find her? He hadn't smelled many girls in this era, so where could she possibly be?

"Um, excuse me."

His ears perked up. He looked behind him and became even more bewildered. She was right there! So close and yet he hadn't detected her at all. What the hell?

"What are you doing?"

"You." Inuyasha stood and stormed over to her. "You took the Sacred Jewel Shard, and I want it back!"

"The . . . what?"

"Don't play dumb! You used that whole healing farce to steal the shard. You think usin' kindness and hospitality will trick me?"

"I . . . I'm not sure what you're talking about."

How dare she play him for a fool. Who does she think she is lying to him so boldly? She may look convincing with her big eyes and frightened demeanor, but he wouldn't fall for it.

Orihime was completely confused by this whole thing. She hadn't expected to see him here—had started to forget what he looked like—and then he showed up not far from her school sniffing the ground. It turned out he was looking for her, and if that wasn't confusing enough, he claimed she took a sacred jewel.

How could that be?

They had only met once, and she hadn't seen anything that resembled a jewel. There was that crystal, but that looked nothing like a jewel.

"Look," the boy said, "just give it back before-"

"Orihime!"

The two of them looked behind her to see Tatsuki coming their way.

The dark-haired girl had been concerned when Orihime said she wanted to go home alone and decided she'd better tag along anyway. She figured what she had said about Ichigo and Rukia got to Orihime and intended to apologize, but then she saw some silver-haired freak getting too close to her friend and looking way too fierce for her tastes.

"Ah, hello, Tatsuki," Orihime greeted uncomfortably. She regretted how she was looking just moments ago because she was sure her feisty friend had seen a bit of fear on her face. She didn't want to cause trouble for this boy . . .

"Yo." The raven haired girl set her glare on the freak in the red outfit. "Who's your friend?"

"Ah . . . Well-"

"Friend? I'm not her friend," the boy said. "She stole somethin' from me, and I want it back!"

Just as Tatsuki had thought, he was no more than some common thug—a punk who didn't care how awful he was lying. "Look, I don't know who you are, but you better get out of here and stop bugging my friend."

"Uh . . .Tatsuki—"

"Who are you to demand me around, half pint?"

"Half pint?" Tatsuki scoffed. "Is that the best you got, dog boy?"

"Dog boy?!"

The two exchanged heated insults, soon coming nose-to-nose and looking ready for an all-out brawl. How had this happened? Orihime hadn't a clue, and she felt like this was all her fault somehow; she just wished she knew exactly how she caused this.

"If you want to settle this with a fight, then I'll gladly oblige." Tatsuki smirked as she threw her things to the ground.

The boy smiled. "Now yer speakin' my language." They both stepped back a few paces. "Bring it-" He stopped, looking to the right like something had caught his attention; Orihime looked in that direction, but only saw a group of bystanders looking at what they thought was going to be a fight.

"Hey, are we gonna do this or what?" Tatsuki barked.

"Tck. Maybe some other time, pipsqueak." He turned to leave, stopped, and turned back towards them, leaping over to Orihime.

"Um . . ." She didn't know what to do; he was just glaring at her. To her surprise, he began sniffing her from head to toe.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Tatsuki roared.

He ignored her and set his sights on the orange haired girl once again. "This ain't over."

With that said, he ran off in the direction that must have been of more importance than . . . whatever he came for.

"Orihime," Tatsuki said as she approached her, "who was that guy?"

"Um . . . I . . . I'm not sure."

First that girl steals the jewel from him, then that pint-sized pain in the neck had to get in the way, now a demon shows up.

If it weren't for the fact that it was so close to Kagome's house, he could have had the jewel and been back by now. Now he had to go back to that side of town later. This back and forth he's been doing had grown to be such a pain, but it's his own fault for letting his guard down so much.

"Dammit," he hissed as he pushed himself to run faster. This whole situation was infuriating.

When he reached Kagome's house, the scent of the demon was stronger than ever. It felt like it was coming from inside her house. He ran to the back and thrust her window open.

"Kagome!"

"Eh? Inuyasha? You came too?" She was sitting on her bed with Shippo on her lap.

"What the hell?" Inuyasha jumped inside and sniffed around. The smell was coming from Shippo. "Why do you reek?!" he yelled, furious.

Shippo yelped, wiggling his way behind Kagome's back. "Don't be mad at me! Since you and Kagome left, we've been attacked by demons left and right! Just come back already!"

"What?" Kagome looked between the two. "Inuyasha, you haven't gone back yet?"

Inuyasha pursed his lips ever so slightly. This sort of question was not in his plans. "Ah . . . well . . ."

"No, he has not!" Shippo poked his head out to peek over Kagome's shoulder with crocodile tears in his eyes. He pointed at Inuyasha accusingly. "He's been gone ever since he came to get you days ago! What makes it worse is that he wasn't even here when I showed up! What have you been doing all this time?!"

He snatched Shippo up by the collar. "Who d'ya think yer demandin' answers from, runt?!"

"HEY! Lemme go! Lemme go!" Shippo protested and writhed.

"How the hell didja get here anyway? Ain't it dangerous for easy prey like you to be wanderin' around?"

"Wargh! Well, I wouldn't have to be wandering around if you had just brought Kagome back like we thought!"

Inuyasha balled his fist. "Why you little-!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome interjected. They both stopped their squabbling and looked at her. "What were you doing all this time if you haven't gone back to the Feudal Era?"

"Eh . . ."

Despite earlier obstacles, Orihime had managed to get home by herself so she could get the crystal and was now almost to Kisuke's shop.

It was a hard task to convince Tatsuki that Orihime would be alright and that there was nothing to worry about. However, Orihime had to admit she was shocked to see that Soul Reaper again, but she was glad to see he was lively. She wasn't sure if she had actually healed him well enough, but he seemed to be in good spirits.

"And his ears are as perky as ever," she giggled as she swung her bag around. She saw Kisuke's shop up ahead and put a little more pep in her step.

She turned into the opened area and saw Ururu swinging a huge spiked bat for no apparent reason. The younger girl looked over as Orihime came closer.

"Oh. Hello, bubbly orange haired lady. If you're looking for Ichigo, he hasn't stopped by to visit for a few days."

"Oh, no, I was hoping to meet with Kisuke-san today."

"What? Really?" Ururu swung her bat in a circle before planting it in the ground. "You remember which one is Kisuke, don't you, lady? He's not the nice one with the mustache."

Orihime laughed. "Of course, of course."

Ururu stared at her; she couldn't determine whether or not the person in front of her had actually come all this way to see Kisuke, of all people. "We are talking about the blond and not the one with the muscles, aren't we?"

"Yes." Orihime was now confused herself. Didn't this child live with Kisuke? Orihime was sure this was the right shop, so the girl would know who Kisuke was, wouldn't she?

"A-alright. I'll go get him-"

"Did I hear my name being called?" Kisuke emerged out of the shop with his face behind a hand-held fan. He eyed the young woman in front of him. "Well, if it isn't Orihime! To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Good day." Orihime bowed. "I was wondering if you could look at something for me."

He fanned himself, eyes gleaming. "You know, Orihime, I'm no doctor, and I don't have the proper license to be doing this, but if you really want to, then follow me to the changing room."

Her cheeks flushed, and she immediately started flailing her hands around. "N-n-no, it's nothing like that! S-see, when I was walking through the forest-"

He laughed. "Please, don't take my jokes so seriously. I'll be glad to help, but I do have one question for you."

"Y-yes?"

"Does Ichigo know you're here?"

"Ah . . . n-no, he doesn't. I think it's best not to trouble him with something as trivial as this."

He laughed joyfully. "Trivial? My dear, by the looks of things," his eyes became focused though his tone stayed light, "you've gotten yourself involved in quite the little mess."

o0o0o

Orihime followed him inside and off to a door to the right, directly after the entrance. Upon entering, she awed at this foreign place and wondered if Ichigo had ever stepped foot in here.

The room was full of complicated looking equipment—nothing new, but definitely nothing outdated—and was dark. Papers were scattered on desks and the floor, and beakers of varying sizes were toppled over with few standing properly. Wires connected to electronic devices were thick and tangled, leaving it impossible to tell where each began without inspecting them closely. Rectangular machines with blinking lights were located all around the room, producing low hums and deep buzzing noises. There were large containers with luminescent, green liquid inside. Copious amounts of monitors lined the walls—possibly all computer screens—but there was one that was surrounded by the most clutter and looked the most important out of them all: it was located to the left of the entrance, and this was the one Kisuke found suitable to sit at.

"I hope you don't mind the mess, Miss. Inoue. So, what is it that you came here to ask me? I'm afraid I've jumped to conclusions." He said this, sounded earnest, but began to get equipment prepared, rolling from here to there in his chair before she answered.

She snapped out of her little trance and dug around in her pocket. "I found this crystal the other day and wanted to know what it is."

"Oh really? And why would you bring it here, Orihime? What makes you think it's something I can handle, or, rather, what makes you think it's something that needs to be brought to my attention?"

"Ah . . . Well, I'm not sure. There's something about it that feels different. The energy is unlike anything I've felt from objects of the Soul Society, and you're the only person I know who could deal with this."

"Let me see." He extended his hand to her, and she placed the object in question on it. He eyed it for a moment, eyes intent, and turned it over a few times. "You say this came from the Soul Society? How ever did you get there?"

"I didn't. A Soul Reaper wearing a red shihakushō got hurt in battle the other day, and he dropped this after I healed him."

"A Soul Reaper in red? Well, they certainly waited a while to change the colors." He tilted his hat back and turned towards his desk. "Alright, let's see what this baby is made of."

He wheeled to the computer and opened a small container filled with the green liquid. He dropped the crystal in, and it made a hissing noise as it settled to the center.

Orihime stared at the container, the light drawing her in. "What is that, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, this? Just something I came up with to detect hidden components in a large variety of objects. I must say, I have never had an object make a sound like that before."

"Is that . . . a bad thing?"

"I think we're about to find out."

The container was connected not only to the computer Kisuke was on, but to other things as well. Once he turned on his computer, five other monitors to the right also started up. Orihime watched them, fascinated and baffled by all that was going on. Kisuke started feverishly typing away at the keyboard, causing the monitors to flicker and blink.

"And this should do it." He pressed one final button and sat back.

Orihime looked at him, waiting for whatever it was he was waiting for. After a few minutes of beeping, but an overall of nothing happening, she opened her mouth to speak when all the other monitors flashed on, screeching and pulsing light. Orihime was stricken with fear, too shocked to move or make noise.

Kisuke remained as he was, occasionally flicking his eyes between screens.

The container holding the crystal began to bubble and simmer over, light going from dim to blindingly bright. All the screens were rapidly scrolling through different numbers, codes, and formulas, all of which made no sense to the auburn girl. This went on for five, seizure inducing minutes when, all at once, everything shut down; the two were surrounded in pitch-black darkness.

"Um-"

"Just give it a minute," Kisuke hummed coolly.

A low buzz sounded and things slowly powered back on. All the containers started to glow again, and the only monitor that came on was the one Kisuke claimed for this session. He tilted his hat back a bit more and began typing again.

"Well, that sure was something, wasn't it?" he mused.

"Is that normal?"

He laughed. "Oh, no, not in the slightest!"

"So . . .what does this mean? What is that crystal?"

"Whatever this is," he reclined, picking up the fan he set down, "the energy emitting from it is unlike anything I've experienced before."

"Is it . . . dangerous?"

"Well, as it stands, it won't cause any life threatening effects if you were to hold it, but if the energy in this crystal were to get manifested or channeled in some way, I'm sure the results could be devastating."

Orihime fidgeted. If this was so bad then what was a rookie Soul Reaper doing carrying it around? Was he going to be a problem for them one day? It would explain why he was so eager to leave her apartment. "Should we return it?"

"Return it?" He looked up at her, fan creating a pleasant breeze that floated up to touch her cheeks. "As far as I'm concerned, Miss. Inoue, this crystal has nothing to do with the Soul Society. In fact, I'm starting to think your red-cloaked friend comes from a different place entirely."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well, unless I meet him, I suppose I can't be, but I do know those stiffs in charge wouldn't change their inconspicuous trademark clothes to something as identifying as red. That would defeat the purpose of trying to sneak around. Furthermore, I'm able to detect any coming and going activity from any means of transportation from any other world to the World of the Living, and none has come from the Soul Society, as of late."

Kisuke leaned forward again, pressing a large, green button that released the crystal from its confines with a surge of thick smoke that fell to the ground like bushels off a tree. The crystal was ejected through the liquid, up into the air, which Kisuke caught on its way down.

"Also, I can add that this has immense power for an item that appears to be fragment of a whole. The fact that something like this exists and the Soul Society has no interest in it—or has no knowledge of it—only suggests that this comes from somewhere out of their jurisdiction, for the moment."

"So . . . So, what do you think I should do?"

"Well," he handed it back to her, "I think you'd have a better answer from that cloaked friend of yours. I have a feeling he'll be back."

He was right. The boy had been back, but he left so unexpectedly.

"Thank you, Kisuke-san." She bowed. "What do I owe you?"

He waved his hand dismissively, grinning. "Your lovely face is payment enough, but I wouldn't mind if you'd drop dinner by for a while."

Orihime beamed. "I would love to! How many servings should I prepare?"

"Oh, just enough for me would be fine. I find your particular tastes to be one that is pleasant to have from time to time."

"Will the others be alright?"

"Yes, yes, quite. Don't give them a second thought."

"Alright." She smiled. "I'll be sure to stop by tomorrow unless you want some tonight."

"No, tomorrow will work just fine."

"Okay." She bowed again. "See you tomorrow, Kisuke-san."

"Bye, Orihime." He waved as she left.

His smile and joyful mood slowly faded. He looked back at the container the crystal previously occupied. The liquid had now crystallized and cracked.

How that girl managed to find herself involved with something like this was beyond his understanding. The crystal was from another world, that was sure, but it was more like another time than another world because he's sensed this energy before—a very long time ago. Either that crystal managed to survive throughout the ages, or it has somehow traveled into this particular point in time.

He could not begin to guess why it would be here, but he would be able to see what happens now that Orihime will be close by for a while.