Chapter Four: Summer Confessions

*Karakura, Yoshiro's Home*

It was a hot mid-July day and summer was in full swing. It had been a couple months since the wild adventure on Emilou's birthday. Things had certainly changed a bit in the time since. Yoshiro was in his room getting ready for the day ahead. Thinking about all that had happened during the time that had passed.

Now that Emilou had a gigai, there was no concern about having to be overly cautious anymore. Not to mention it gave Emilou almost complete freedom to enjoy human society in ways she couldn't in her hollow form. The first thing they did upon her first visit after receiving her gigai. Which was kept in a spare bedroom at Yoshiro's for safe keeping, was go clothing shopping. Unsurprisingly, to Yoshiro anyways was the fact her fashion sense seemed to be very similar to his. She enjoyed the rocker look he had, just in a more tomboyish/feminine way understandably. Not that he was going to complain, he loved the way she looked in such a style. Also, she almost never went without the pendant he gifted her on her birthday. Only leaving it out of her sight with her gigai, when she had to return to hueco mundo.

Another thing she could enjoy far more was the entertainment the living world had to offer and being able to interact with it all. Arcades, movies, music shows, etc. Yoshiro's took her to all these things and she completely engrossed herself into them all. Not surprising in all honesty, when you consider the world, she lives in is so bleak and harsh. Makes sense that she would lose herself in things that were a complete 180 from what she was used too.

Yoshiro for his part was more than happy to help in having her enjoy herself. In his view she was forced to deal with such a crap sack world and problems that came with it. She deserved to get away when she could to have some fun. This particular weekend they had agreed to a very particular activity. Since it was summer, they had agreed to go and hang out and camp for the night at one of the beaches not too far outside of Karakura. He had already picked up all the necessary supplies and was currently ensuring everything was properly together.

As Yoshiro was doing this another string of ideas entered his mind. Mainly just what did Emilou mean to him? He knew he had come to care about her a great deal. She had also become the best friend he had honestly ever had. Not that he had that many friend's ones he actually spent time with outside of school anyways. In fact, when he thought about it, she was the only person outside of school he honestly spent time with. He couldn't help but feel that his feelings for her had steadily started to shift, after the wild adventure of her birthday a few months ago.

What was it though? In the time since her birthday, when he looked at her, he started having different feelings towards her. Feelings that he knew went beyond mere friendship. When he thought of her he wanted to always be able to help her, to support her, to make her happy, to….to love her? Is that what this feeling was, was it, genuine love he had slowly developed for her. Did he wish to love her on a level of spending his existence with her in such a personal and intimate way. Side by side together as far more than friends? Yoshiro had never been in love before, so he wasn't sure about what he was feeling. He stopped what he was doing, closed his eyes and went into deep thought about everything. Trying to come to a definitive answer.

He kept this way for a few minutes, until finally he let out a huge sigh. He opened his eyes and stared blankly at his ceiling a bit. He had his answer, no questions about it, he was in love with her. His rational sense wouldn't let him see other wise and he knew that it was the truth. In that moment he decided, he would wait for the right moment during the trip and confess his feelings. He knew the sooner he spoke about them the better. If she didn't feel same way, he would accept that. If she did, well he obviously would be joyful for that. He simply knew that it was better to address this right away instead of letting it linger no matter what the end result would be. With that decided he began the final bit of packing.

*Garganta Passage*

Emilou strode through the garganta passage to the living world, where Yoshiro's home was located. Excited for the coming day of fun at the beach. Emilou had never been to beach before, not in her hollow life or even her previous human one as far as she knew. It was sure to be an interesting new experience and knew Yoshiro was already ensuring everything was in order for when she arrived.

Speaking of the man, Emilou thoughts lingered on him as she walked. In the time following since her birthday, she had come to accept that she was feeling more for him beyond friendship. Though she still had no idea what this feeling was though. For a hollow like her it was a feeling that felt both completely alien but also satisfying all at once. All she knew for sure was, Yoshiro made her happy. Very happy in fact. His smile, his charm, his compassion and care, she always had a feeling of warmth and satisfaction in his presence these days. If only she knew what it all meant. She decided she would tell Yoshiro about all this when a proper opportunity presented itself. Hopefully he would have the answer she needed, plus she wondered. Was he having the same feelings towards her by chance?

If only she knew how right, she was.

The garganta opened up in the living room and Emilou stepped out letting it close behind her. She called out. "hey, I'm here!"

The blond boy came down the stairs, Emilou feeling a warmness inside her as he approached and spoke with a smile.

"Fantastic, I already have all our stuff packed. So, you can just hop into your gigai and we can take off."

"on it" she chirped and immediately headed upstairs to the room to where her gigai was. She quickly hoped into it and headed back downstairs. Holding the pendant that hung around her neck briefly as she did.

"Alright, lets' head out!" she announced happily.

Yoshiro merely responded by grabbed the ruck sack with all their stuff for the trip and slung it over his back. Tossing a small smile as Emilou strode up next to him and they headed out the door.

They took a train that went toward the beaches just stopping a few miles away from it. From there the hiked till they reached the beach, they continued on until they reached a sector of the beach far and away from where anyone else was. The area had a nice large patch of grass underneath a nice collection of trees, right next to beach edge. It would make an excellent spot for camp.

Yoshiro set up their tent and everything else needed for the day. Emilou went into the tent once it was ready to change into her swimsuit as Yoshiro continued on a few more things outside. Yoshiro had just finished when Emilou came out of the tent in her swimsuit, his jaw almost hit the sand in awe.

While he had helped her pick out the swimsuit, it was the first time he had actually seen her wearing it. It was a dark forest green color two piece that hugged her feature well. Nothing too revealing but not too prudish either. A perfect mix of modesty and sex appeal. He slapped himself back into focus before he let his stare linger for too long. He then headed off to change into his swim wear.

Emilou had seen the blonde's reaction to her in her swimsuit, she almost couldn't hold back a laugh from the look on his face. Then she heard Yoshiro come out of tent and she looked to him. Now it was her turn to stare in wonder.

He still had his hair in his signature style, but he had no shirt or feet wear on. His well, built and hairless physique reflecting off of the sunlight. Emilou knew Yoshiro was in good shape but never actually seen his toned body more or less on full display. His abs were well honed with the muscles near his waist tapering off into a deep v shape. His arms while not large had noticeable defined muscles. His legs had a light yet strong shape to them. His actual swimsuit she eventually noticed was a gold like color, that had visage of a great white shark on it. Along with some Hawaiian like symbols.

Undoubtably, a call back of sorts to his heritage on his mother's side. Emilou must have stared for too long for he suddenly said.

"Hey Emilou, your starting to drool on yourself a bit just so you know." He said with a cheeky tone.

She quickly stiffened in surprise and went red in the face from embarrassment. He proceeded to come over with a can of spray on sunscreen.

"here let me spray you down, it will keep you safe from any sunburn, your skin is much more sensitive to the sunlight then mine and it's waterproof, so it'll be good even after swimming." He spoke kindly.

she simply nodded her head in agreement and let him spray her down. A few moments later she was completely protected from the sun's rays.

"alright lets' hit the water!" Yoshiro said with excitement.

"ok!" she replied with joy but then suddenly stopped when a realization hit her. "I don't know how to swim for shit." She proclaimed.

He laughed and said in response "Don't worry I can teach you and have you gliding through the water in no time." He walked up and gently grabbed her by the hand and led her to the water.

As she entered the water of the sea for the time ever, she noted the water was warmer than expected. The wet sand under her feet felt surprisingly nice. She noticed the water had a relaxing cerulean blue color to it. 'just like Yoshiro's eyes.' She quickly thought to herself. Once they were deep enough that the water was about to her chest they stopped, and Yoshiro spoke.

"Ok! So, for starters I'm gonna swim around a bit and want you watch how I move. So, you can have an idea of how it all works." He said in a teaching like tone. She simply nodded her head in response. With that he turned around and dove headfirst into the water. He swam with his legs and arms moving in perfect tandem with each other gliding through the water for a few minutes before stopping. "you see the general idea of how it works?" he asked.

"yeah." Emilou had seen the gist of it, it seemed easy enough. Yoshiro strode over to her. "ok" he said. "just lay belly down in the water I'll hold you in place so you can practice and get used the motions of things. Then I'll let go so you can try to swim for real and see how it goes?" he said with encouragement.

Emilou did as instructed and floated in the water belly down and head up, with her arms and legs sticking out. As Yoshiro gently placed his hands on her waist to hold her place, it sent a jolt through her and she could feel herself blush a bit. She did her best to focus on the task on hand and practice the movements she had been shown.

The blond-haired teen was gently but firmly holding Emilou in place as she practiced her movements. He was also doing his best not to stare at her perfectly shaped ass. He never considered himself a pervert, nor a prude. The fact was though he was a perfectly healthy 16-year-old guy. Who was currently holding by the waist, half naked mind you? The one woman in existence he found more beautiful and attractive than anything else. Needless to say, he was fighting his own awkward urges of teenage boy reactions. Thankfully he was winning, atleast for the moment.

He decided to focus in his teaching mode and chose to test Emilou a bit. Noticing she had seemingly picked up on the movements pretty quickly. Plus, he noticed she was fully engrossed with her practice. So, he ever so gently, simply let go and watched as Emilou took off swimming through the water without missing a beat.

Emilou was so focused on practicing her movements, she never even noticed that Yoshiro had let go of her. It wasn't until she had tried shifting her waist a bit did, she notice his hands were missing from them. She suddenly stopped and realized her feet could no longer reach the bottom of the shore. She looked around and found Yoshiro standing some 20 yards behind her. Then she suddenly realized it, she'd been swimming perfectly fine.

She waved and smiled at Yoshiro. Who giving off his own beaming smile, that was dripping positively in pride. She then proceeded to swim back all the way to him until it was shallow enough for her to walk. She spoke with excitement as she approached him.

"I almost can't believe I was actually doing it! I didn't think I would pick up at it so fast! That felt amazing!"

"you must be a natural swimmer." He warmly replied back.

"I think I just had a great teacher." Emilou said as she without thinking wrapped her arms around Yoshiro and pulled him into a hug. Yoshiro on reflex gently wrapped his arms around her, and softly pulled her closer to him.

Emilou suddenly realized she had her head resting against his chest. Feeling the firm yet softness of his skin, along with the refreshing dampness of the sea water adorning it. Being able to feel and hear the gentle sound and motion of his chest moving up and down. Without moving at all, she began to speak.

"Yoshiro." She said softly. "Lately, there have been these feelings within me. Feelings that I've never experienced before. I know I like this feeling; in fact I like it a lot. But I've been unable to figure it out for a while now since it was all so alien to me. Now though, I think I know what this feeling is. This may sound crazy with me being a hollow and you being human, but I think….I think I…I…..I." she began to stutter, when Yoshiro spoke.

"You're in love with me?" he said calmly. Emilou stayed silent for a few moments not moving at all. Trying to figure out the next words to say, when he continued in a gentle voice.

"it's ok Emilou because I've been feeling the same way for you for a while as well. I'm in love with you too. It's makes no difference to me that you're a hollow. You're a wonderful woman who I deeply care for and I want to share all of who I am with you."

Emilou slowly looked up and met her eyes with his. Both staring longingly into each other eyes. Then she spoke in a caring whisper.

"I love you Yoshiro."

"I love you too." He kindly replied.

She moved her hands to the back of his head and gently moved his head down to hers and then right in that moment. Standing in the middle of the shining water of the seashore under the afternoon sun. Their lips softly pressed together, keeping them gently locked together for a few moments of gentle passion.

They continued to swim in the sea for the rest of the afternoon, now as lovers instead of just friends. Eventually night began to fall so they headed back to the tent to dry off and change for the night. Yoshiro changed into a pair green gym shorts and a black t-shirt. Emilou meanwhile changed into a pair of yellow yoga shorts with a light blue tank top.

Yoshiro set up some portable lamps for light and laid out a large beach towel for the two of them lay on. He laid on his back, head pointed looking up at the star filled sky. Emilou laid next to him with her head resting on his chest, with an arm slung around him. He moved an arm to wrap around her and hugged lightly. So, they both laid there enjoying the quite relaxing night in each, others embrace.

"I'm really happy things worked out like this." Yoshiro spoke.

"So am I." Emilou replied.

"I have to be honest. I never imagined when we met on the rooftop that night, it would lead to something like this. Interesting how things work out at times in life." He said warmly.

Emilou thought about it all, that night of their first meeting felt like a whole lifetime ago. So much had happened since then and yet she couldn't be happier with how it all turned. Then she chirped up.

"it really is, granted I'm not complaining about a thing. Though I will ask that you don't go trying to confront anymore soul reaper captains. I'd probably wind up having a heart attack otherwise."

"I thought you couldn't get those?"

"Your missing the point I'm making here."

He chuckled lightly and said. "I get it, don't do anything to make you worry too much. I understand Emilou."

"Thank you." She replied quietly. Then she lifted her head and up and gave a soft gentle kiss to his lips. He merely gave a happy smirk in response. Which made her smile in return. They laid there for a while longer before heading into the tent for the night to sleep wrapped in each other's embrace.

They awoke early the next just before sunrise. The started to pack everything up and headed to the train station just as the sun was beginning to rise. After a brief train ride, they arrived back in Karakura. A short walk later they were back at Yoshiro's home. As they went inside and put there stuff down, Yoshiro pulled the hollow woman close to him and gave a soft kiss. As they stood there together, an unknown voice suddenly spoke out.

"So, this is what you've been really up to all this time eh, Emilou?" said a feminine but rather gruff voice that held a touch of anger and aggravation too it.

"Indeed, our mistress would very much like to know. Just why you've been lying to us all this time? You honestly should have known better Emilou dearie." Said another female voice. This one more polite with a type of high-class flair to it but still with a noticeable edge.

Then two different women walked out into the living room revealing themselves.

The first one Yoshiro noticed was much taller than Emilou but shorter than him. She had dark skin long brown hair and green eyes. She had what appeared to be some kind of lion's mane, that started on one shoulder and ran across the back of neck and stopping at the other shoulder. She was also fairly muscular especially for a woman. She wore some sort of chest plate that ran from just above her breast down to her waist. Gauntlets on her arms, a type of battle skirt and boots that went up to her knees. Plus, on top of her head was some sort of spiked three pieced crown. She looked like some kind of lion like amazon warrior.

Then there was the other woman Yoshiro noticed. She seemed just slightly shorter than Emilou, had long green like hair and lavender eyes. She wore a Chinese style dress of sorts that had very long sleeves, that completely hid her hands and almost reached the floor. The weird thing was the dress resembled something akin to snakeskin. She also had some pink like dots under her eyes and a what appeared to be some kind of jewelry piece that hung around her right eye. That had what appeared to be some sort of attachment of three bells that jingled with the slightest movement. She seemed like some sort of snake themed Asian princess.

Yoshiro had no idea what to make of the two strange women in his home but noticed Emilou had a look of complete shock and horror. She kept this look and merely choked out three words.

"Oh, fuck me!"