Rukia had finally arrived to the scene. She panted heavily as she looked at Ichigo then at Rose. Her eyes widened and she quickly turned her gaze back at the male.
"Ichigo, what happened?" She asked as she caught her breath and knelt down next to Rose. "I thought an Espada had showed up and interfered with your battle with the Hollow."
Ichigo shook his head. "The Hollow used Rose as a shield and I stabbed her with my Zanpaktuo. Now, she's a Soul Reaper. There was no Espada. That was Rose's spiritual pressure."
"T-That spiritual pressure was Rose?"
Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, It was."
Rukia sighed softly and ran her fingers through her hair. "Well," Rukia began and stood up on her feet. "It was an accident. That Hollow was intelligent and probably had something to do with Aizen. I honestly don't know how the Soul Society is going to react to this situation. If Aizen gets word of Rose's spiritual pressure, we are screwed."
Ichigo also rose to his feet with Rose in his arms. He sighed softly and looked at Rose. "Its really one problems after another huh?" He muttered and began to walk toward his home. Rukia followed suit.
"I'm going to have to go to the Soul Society and explain the incident that has occurred today. You are going to have to protect Rose until I come back."
"Yeah, I know." He replied. "I'll probably go talk to Urahara about Rose's spiritual pressure with Rose tomorrow. See if there is away to keep her hidden."
"Good idea. He might know what to do." Rukia agreed.
The two walked in silence the rest of the way. Both hoping that many of their unanswered questions will be answered in the coming days.
It was the next morning. Eight o'clock in the morning to be exact. It was a gloomy day. The forecast called for rain and thunderstorms all day. The rain pitter pattered against the glass window, cascading down like streams. The thunder rumbled quietly in the distance like a bowling ball rolling its way down a bowling alley.
Rukia and Ichigo were discussing the plan for today. She was to return to the Soul Society and explain the situation at hand. Ichigo was to meet up with Urahara and see if he can answer some of their questions. The two wished each other luck and went their separate ways.
Ichigo went into the spare bedroom to go check on Rose. As he entered the room, he saw her still asleep. He sighed softly and pulled up a chair, taking a seat next to the bed. He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. He was getting his thoughts together, trying to prepare what to to say to Urahara. He decided to keep things simple and straight to the point, hoping that Urahara will take him seriously.
Rose stirred in her slumber, a groan escaping her lips as her eyes fluttered open. She turned her gaze toward Ichigo and slowly sat up.
"Ichigo," she whispered and leaned back against the bed frame. She looked around the room as saw it wasn't hers. Her eyes began to swell with tears but she quickly swallowed them away.
"So last night wasn't a dream, huh?" Her voice cracked a bit due to her trying to contain her emotions. "What's going to happen to me now?"
"I don't know, Rose. We are going to someone I know today and see if can answer the questions we have." He gets up. "Get dressed. I'll meet you down stairs." With that, Ichigo had left the room.
Rose sighed softly and ran her fingers through her curly hair. She gets up and looked at the bag in the corner of the room. Rukia must have packed a bag full of Rose's clothes for her.
'I guess I'm going to be staying here for a while,' she thought as she searched through the bag for an outfit. She picked out a pink t-shirt and a pair of black leggings. She quickly gets dressed, throws on her tennis shoes, and heads downstairs to Ichigo.
Once downstairs, Rose saw Ichigo near the door with two umbrellas in his hand. He handed one of them to Rose and opened the door, allowing Rose to leave first. She exited the house, opening the umbrella in the process. Ichigo followed behind her and lead the way to Urahara's store.
After about a thirty minute walk, Rose and Ichigo arrived at the shop. It looked like a traditional style home than an shop. There were green trimmings and dark brown panels. Very simple and discreet.
Ichigo walked up toward the door and slid it open then gestured Rose to enter first. She trotted slightly and entered the shop. On the inside, it did look like a shop. An assortment of medicines and candies her neat lined up. Ichigo once again took the lead and walked through short green curtains. Rose followed after him to see a brightly lit room. A light brown, round wooden table sat in the middle of the room.
A man wearing a dark green cardigan and matching green shorts was sitting on the floor on other side of the table, fanning himself with his fan. He also wore a stripped green hat that created a dark cast over his eyes. Although you could see a peek of his eye when he looked up at Ichigo. He smiled warmly and waved his fan.
"Welcome Ichigo! What brings you here today?" He asked then turned his gaze toward Rose. He raised his brow, nodding his head finally understanding. "Ah, I see now. You were the person emitting that spiritual pressure last night. Yoruichi and I thought it was another Espada." He said and gestured for them to sit.
Rose sat down and placed her hands in her lap. Ichigo sat beside her, placed an elbow on the table resting his chin on his palm. "Yeah, the Hollow that was after her was actually an Arrancar. It used her as a shield and I ended up stabbing Rose in the chest. Now she's a Soul Reaper. Rukia is in the Soul Society talking to the Head Captain about the current situation."
"Then why come to me?" Urahara asked, watching Rose.
"To see if you have any idea on what Rose is. Like you said, she emitted spiritual pressure like an Espada."
Urahara thought for a moment and glanced at Ichigo. He shrugged. "I actually have no idea Ichigo." He chuckled and shook his head.
Ichigo grew irritated. "Why are you laughing this isn't funny?! If Aizen gets word about her, her life could be danger!"
"Always passionate about protecting everyone. Even ones you just met. There are some possibilities for Miss Rose," Urahara began and leaned back slightly against the wall. "First off, her parents may have been Soul Reapers who decided it wasn't the life they wanted when they fell in love and ran away to the human world. A second possibility is that one or both of her parents know of Aizen. Experiments may have been performed on Miss Rose and she was just the beginning phase of his plan before it was put in motion." He paused and thought for a moment before continuing.
"My hypothesis is the second possibility. It makes the most sense but there is also the possibility that she was born with spiritual pressure. Aizen may have made contact with the parent or parents and came to some sort of agreement. Like I said Ichigo, these are all possibilities and my Hypotheses." He turned his gaze to Rose. "Have you ever met a strange man when you were younger?"
Now that Rose was thinking about it, she did a meet a man. He was his father's friend. "I-I did. When I lived in America. He was a close friend of my fathers. I just don't remember what he looked like. I has been a long time since I've seen him."
"Hmm," Urahara thought for a moment. "Then there is a big possibility Aizen knows you are in Japan. He sent that Arrancar here then. A mistake was made which ended up turning Rose into a Soul Reaper or it could have be intentionally. That Arrancar was trying to capture her.'
Ichigo sighed and looked at the wall. He didn't really know what to say. If Urahara was right, (which he was 99% of the time), then Rose needed to be protected and needed to learn how to protect herself.
"So," Rose began and she clenched her hands on her lap. "What am I suppose to do now? Do you have anything that will help me stay hidden?"
"Well, I can teach you how to defend yourself. We don't know when Aizen is planning his next attack to capture you. That just depends on how bad he wants you. If, of course, my hypotheses is right. As for something to keep you hidden, you can stay here. I can have a friend of mine create a barrier and conceal you."
Rose nodded. She sighed softly and looked over at Ichigo who was lost in his own thoughts. She turned her attention to Urahara.
"I'll do it. I'll train to protect myself and others who have protected me." She said, determined and courageous. Rose didn't have time to be scared. She had people she wanted to protect and she didn't want all the burden put on Ichigo or Rukia.
Ichigo looked over at Rose. He was about to protest but Urahara raised his hand and interrupted Ichigo.
"Good! Ururu and Tessai will show you to your new room." He said and the sliding doors opened. A tall, muscular and burley male stood tall and bowed slightly, greeting both Rose and Ichigo. He had a thick mustache and wore a white shirt with a denim colored apron with glasses. Next him was a short little girl with two high pig tails in her hair. She had dark eyes and a long bang in the middle of her face that split off at the end. Rose thought she was cute.
"You can follow me, ma'am." The little girl spoke and bowed. Rose got up and looked over at Ichigo with a small, warm smile. "Bye Ichigo. I'll see you later." With that Rose left the room, following Tessai and Ururu.
Ichigo felt his cheeks grow warm at Rose's smile. He nodded and watched her leave the room.
"Ichigo," Urahara began, "You must protect that flower. We can't have Aizen take Rose like he took Orihime."
Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, I know."
'Protect the flower.' Ichigo repeated in his thoughts as he sighed. He got up and stuffed his hand into his jeans. "I'll be back with Rose's stuff. Don't try anything shady Urahara."
"Why Ichigo, I don't know what you mean. Do you have a little crush on her?" Urahara teased and fanned himself, laughing.
Ichigo shook his head and waved him off as he left the shop.
'Save Orihime, Protect the flower.'