Ichigo was expecting Emma to show up. After the last time they saw each other, he wanted to make things right. Instead, he ended up meeting with his ex-girlfriend: Emily. When whatever happened there was done, Ichigo returned home. He clearly had a lot to think about, and Renji saw it when he saw Ichigo came in.

"Hey. That took a long time. I guess that means things between you and Emma are good?" Renji asked.

"Emma never showed up." Ichigo said.

"She didn't?" Renji questioned. "If she never showed, what were you doing all this time?"

"Emma didn't show, but someone else did." Ichigo said. "Emily was there." Renji was quite surprised to hear about that. Since Emily hasn't shown since she and Ichigo broke up, hearing what happened between those two was of great interest.

"Emily was there?!" Renji said. "No way! What happened?! Was it bad?"

"It was actually...not bad." Ichigo said as he was trying to process how he felt about the whole thing.

"Tell me what happened." Renji said.

"I waited at the bar for about an hour for Emma to show up. Just when I was about to give up and go home, Emily was there." Ichigo said. "She said she's moved to the city herself and starting her own life here."

"Really? Out of every place in the world, she just happens to be at the one you live in?" Renji said. "She just happens to show at your favorite bar?" He thought it was too coincidental, but Ichigo didn't really think about that.

"It's a big city with thousands upon thousands of people, Renji." Ichigo said. "I'm sure it was all by chance. She never even knew that was my favorite bar."

"Well, what happened when she showed up?" Renji asked.

"It was a little awkward, but we were able to talk." Ichigo said. "We actually had a great time together. It was almost like nothing really changed between us."

"Hold on. Nothing changed? Are you saying you and she are getting back together?" Renji asked.

"No. Emily and I just met after not seeing each other for so long." Ichigo said. "I'm just saying that it wasn't as bad as I thought if the two of us ever met up with each other again."

"May I remind you that this girl cheated on you. She traded away what you and she had for a fun time with some guy." Renji said. He didn't want to see Ichigo make the same kind of mistakes.

"Would you relax. She and I are not getting back together, at least not yet." Ichigo said as he acted like there was really no problem.

"Why did you say "not yet"? What's that suppose to mean?" Renji asked with suspicion. He got Ichigo stumped on that one. Ichigo wasn't quite sure what he meant by that himself. Does this mean Ichigo is already thinking of getting back together with Emily.

"Just take it easy." Ichigo said as he tried to put an end to this talk. "All that happened was that Emily and I sat and talk. In fact, we're even meeting up again. We're just trying to put the whole thing behind us."

"Okay." Renji said, but he wasn't so sure if he liked where this was going. "What about Emma? What are you going to do about her?"

"I've left her messages. She hasn't replied to anything." Ichigo said. "I guess I blew it. She doesn't want to see me again."

"I doubt it's that bad." Renji said. "I think she just needs some time to get over it. I'm sure she'll come around." Ichigo figured Renji was right. He's just going to give Emma that space she needs.

"I may not have been able to fix things with Emma yet, but I just left it alone. It gave me a chance to focus on Emily and see where she and I really stand." Not really seeing any harm in it, Ichigo continued with his plans to see Emily.

...

The Next Day

Ichigo and Emily had plans to see each other. Neither of them really planned for anything romantic, but they did plan to see each other. One of the first places they planned to go to was the museum and see some of the art. Emily waited outside the gallery for Ichigo to show.

"Hey!" Ichigo called as he ran to her. "Sorry I kept you waiting. I had to work as hard as I could to get out of work early."

"It's okay. I haven't been waiting long. Let's go in." Emily said with the two of them heading inside. Since the two broke up and never got to see the city together, they figured they might as well now. As the two of them walked around the gallery, they admired the art and things between them appeared to be going well.

"You know, Renji was a little worried about something going on between us." Ichigo said.

"He was? What was he worried about?" Emily asked.

"I'm not really sure." Ichigo said. "It doesn't matter. I'm actually glad we did this. Gives us a chance to get reacquainted and try to put the past behind us."

"I'm actually glad we did this myself." Emily said. "So, are you and Renji still living together in that dumpy apartment?"

"I thought you liked my place!" Ichigo said.

"I said it wasn't bad, didn't say I liked it." Emily teased. Things are going well between the two of them. They're able to talk, joke, and have a nice time together. It was really like nothing bad happened between them and the past doesn't matter anymore.

"Hey. What do you think of this piece?" Ichigo asked as they looked at another piece of art. It looked like a man and a woman being torn apart.

"I say it represents the tragedy that comes with love." Emily said. "I can see that those two want to be together, but there's something that is keeping them apart. It could be emotional or something outside that keeps them apart." When she said that, it had Ichigo think of her and him. Emily realized that herself. Things were already getting tense between them.

"Uh... Let's move on." Ichigo said as the two of them kept going.

"Kids, sometimes we want something without even knowing that we want it. Sometimes we're aware of it, but we try to deny it. Somewhere inside, I wanted to get back with Emily. I wanted to, but I wasn't sure if I even should. I just tried to act normal and didn't say a thing about it, it always found a way to slip out." The two of them kept touring through the gallery until they heard a growling sound and it was coming from Ichigo's stomach.

"Someone's hungry." Emily said as she chuckled.

"I guess so. I skipped lunch so I would be able to make it here." Ichigo said. "Do you want to do takeout and just head back to my place?" He said that without even realizing what he said. When he did, he tried to fix his blunder. "Of course, we could actually go to a casual restaurant. Maybe even invite a couple friends over."

"I don't mind takeout." Emily said. Both of them were saying what they really wanted, but tried playing it cool. This could get rough for both of them.

...

Ichigo's Apartment

After they were done at the gallery, it got dark and the two of them just grabbed some burgers and just ate at Ichigo's apartment. Things might have been a little awkward here and there, but the two of them were able to enjoy themselves.

"Dump, shmump. At least we're able to have a good meal at this place." Emily said.

"Good meal at this place? Shouldn't that apply to one of us cooking?" Ichigo said.

"By the way, where's Renji?" Emily asked.

"I'm not sure." Ichigo said. Without Renji, it was just the two of them. The two of them were alone in the apartment. Once they finished eating, Ichigo grabbed all the trash and just threw it away.

"I've got to say, Emily, that I did enjoy today. It's actually nice having you around again." Ichigo said.

"I'm glad to be back." Emily said as the two of them just roamed around the apartment. "I think it's time we do clear the air about something. Ichigo, I know I've said this before, but I'm so sorry about what happened before."

"You mean from when you cheated on me?" Ichigo said. "You mean when you slept around with some guy for a fling."

"No need to rub it in." Emily said. "In my defense, I did that because I missed you so much. I missed having you sleep next to me, waking up next to you, and having your arms around me. I missed all of it while you were away. So, in a way, it's really your fault for being a great lover."

"Okay, that was worth waiting for." Ichigo said as it boosted his pride.

"Again, I'm sorry." Emily said. "We've known each other for years. You were actually the first guy I loved, but I never should have done something so stupid."

"Forget it." Ichigo said as he really was letting go of the past. "I'm trying not to let the past torment me. I already went through something like that. In fact, I still am."

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.

"I flipped out on a girl over a week ago when I shouldn't have." Ichigo said. "I'm trying to fix things between her, but I haven't heard from her. In fact, the person I'm talking about is Emma. You remember her?"

"Yeah. She was that friend of yours I met when I first came here." Emily said. "So, are you two dating now or something?"

"No. We're just friends." Ichigo said. "I'm not sure we're even that anymore. Plus, I broke up with this other girl a while back. I'm not sure if I want to start dating again."

"That's too bad." Emily said as she closed the distance on him. "You're something amazing." Ichigo knew where this could be going. He knew what he wanted to do, but he couldn't take the inner struggle anymore.

"Emily, what are we doing?" Ichigo said.

"I don't know!" Emily said as she was feeling the same way as him. "When I saw you, it was like all those old feelings came flooding back. The truth is...I still love you."

"I can feel it happening to me, but is this really what we want?" Ichigo questioned.

"I already know what I want." Emily said. She didn't wait for it anymore and kissed Ichigo. When she did that, all the old feelings Ichigo had for her came back to him. He couldn't resist it anymore himself. That's why he lifted her up and had her legs wrap around him as he carried her to his bed. When you're with someone you still have feelings for, all the past feelings could come back. That's what happened with these two because they both wanted things to go back to how they were before. Sometimes when things in the present go off, people could go back to a part of their past because it might be easier. The two of them didn't really think or anything. They just acted and let the night take them away.