Shippoman: I just want to give a shout out to all of you that review for this story. Thanks for your encouragement, it makes it that much easier to want to keep this story going. I'll be going back to a every other week posting for this to give me more time to figure out how to portray the rest of this story. Hope you like what's to come.

Chapter 10:

*Crash!*

It was late afternoon when Kensei entered the main living area of the Vizard headquarters. He'd been training with Hachigen in the space beneath their warehouse but decided enough was enough when Hiyori entered with her usual horrible temper. She wouldn't shut up so he decided to leave. As he neared the top of the stairs, he heard something shatter and rushed up the last few steps to see what happened.

As soon as everyone came into view, he realized what the source of the commotion was. Mashiro was lying on the floor rocking back and forth and kicking her feet in anger. Next to her lay the remains of a shattered lamp. Something she obviously knocked over in her tantrum. Not surprising, everyone was simply ignoring her instead of trying to get her to stop. Love was sitting in a corner of the room reading one of his graphic novels, Rose was brushing through Lisa's hair and returning it to its usual braid while she looked at a swimsuit magazine, and Shinji was lying on his back on the couch with his hat pulled low over his eyes.

"What is it this time?" he growled standing over the whining woman, radiating irritation.

"I think it's something about food," Love muttered from his corner.

Kensei looked over at the green haired girl ignoring the thing she was repeating as she threw her tantrum. She was so irritating, always acting like a child. He used to believe she'd grow out of it eventually, but gave up on that thought after the first 50 years with her.

"I know, why don't the two of you grab dinner tonight," Shinji suggested as he sat up from his spot on the couch. "It is your turn after all."

Kensei glowered at the blond male. He hated taking Mashiro anywhere, and food shopping was the worst; scratch that, underwear shopping was. Still, better to bring her along than allow her to remain and break something else in her hunger tantrum.

He was about to concede when he noticed something about the taller and thinner male. It was small and didn't last long, but the man suddenly seemed to be looking at him in concern or nervousness. The burly silver haired man had to admit the other had been acting strange the past couple of days, but only really when it came to him.

"On second though...I'll do you a solid and take care of it myself," Shinji offered as he straightened his shirt. "I'll even take Mashiro off your hands."

"Didn't you take charge of the food run yesterday?" Kensei asked suspiciously.

Now he noticed something else. Ever since he came back from the school three days prior, he'd been doing all the food runs. In fact Shinji had been volunteering for all the errands that required the others to go into town. He was hiding something...

"Don't bother," he growled marching over to the kicking Mashiro and dragging her to her feet. "Mashiro, let's go."

"Yay!" the green haired girl exclaimed jumping up and down in her excitement. "Hey, Kensei, can we get some ice cream while we're out?"

"If it'll shut you up then fine," he growled back.

"You're so mean," she whined sticking her tongue out at him as they headed for the exit.

"Do that again and you won't get anything."

"Stupid, mean, Kensei," she pouted crossing her arms. "I bet Shinji would let me."

By this time they'd already made it outside and Kensei had lost his temper. "If you don't like it, then go back inside and get nothing!" he shouted at her.

The moment he finished speaking, he realized she was already halfway down the street and almost out of sight. She'd, of course, completely ignored him. Typical...

"Come on, Kensei!" she called out waving her arm back and forth. "I'm starving!"

Kensei was seriously contemplating tying her up somewhere for a week to show her what starving actually felt like, but decided against it. No bonds in existence would be able to hold her back for an entire week. It'd be a complete waste of effort.

Instead, he followed the hyperactive woman all the way to the store where he handed her a small amount of money and told her she could buy whatever she wanted with it. He then went around and grabbed the actual groceries. What they were low on, what the guys requested to eat, and what he wanted that night. Not surprising, he finished long before the indecisive Mashiro and decided to park himself outside the store and wait.

Just outside the door he had a decent view of the setting sun. It wasn't something he normally paid much attention to, but for some reason he couldn't look away from this one. No, he knew the reason. It reminded him of another he watched with a certain woman...long ago.

As he watched the sky change colors, his mind began to drift, conjuring up images of the woman in question. Her short red hair, gently brushing against pale cheeks, her green eyes turned to him in a soft smile, while the kimono she wore flapped slightly in the gentle breeze. It was a perfect memory. He could even remember how her voice sounded...and how she smelled of plum blossoms all the time; he could even smell them now.

A few moments later, he looked around himself as a thought occurred to him. He actually could smell plum blossoms. But where was the smell coming from? He looked this way and that trying to figure out why he was smelling the plant when he remembered that on the other end of the alley a few doors down, was an arboretum filled with all sorts of plants. Thinking of her must have made him focus on the one somehow...how irritating.

Kensei shifted a little in his place wondering what was taking Mashiro so long when he suddenly started hearing humming. It was soft, and at first he didn't think he was hearing anything, but then he realized the sound was coming from the very alley he'd been looking at...the alley where the smell of plum blossoms was growing stronger. Coming toward him.

He took a few confused steps toward it, setting the food he had in his hands down on the sidewalk, until he heard the humming once more. It was a voice all too familiar; one he thought he'd never hear again.

Suddenly he was rushing to the alley, unable to fully believe what his mind had pieced together. "It can't be her," he thought trying to keep himself from getting his hopes up. "They would have said something if she was free." He kept repeating this to himself until he was at the mouth of the alley and collided with a body.

Right away he realized he'd knocked something out of the person's hands and dipped to catch it before it hit the ground. It was a plant...a plum blossom. "S-sorry!" the person exclaimed. He doubt they realized they'd said anything by the tone and turned his eyes toward them.

They were wearing a school uniform, the same one assigned to Ichigo's school if he wasn't mistaken. He already knew it was probably a woman based on the voice, but the skirt more than confirmed this. His eyes moved upward, noticing the size of the chest; though he pushed that aside. Then the long strands of red hair that hung over top of them. It was a familiar shade that led his eyes all the way up to a pair of green eyes.

The moment his eyes met hers he knew. It was her, the girl he'd all but given up hope of ever seeing again. The girl he felt he'd let down, the one he lost so long ago. She was standing before him her eyes widening with recognition. Time seemed to stand still for him, and all he could think about was seeing her smile, or hearing her voice say his name.

Instead, he felt hers leave his lips. "Yukiko..."

He couldn't believe what was in front of his eyes. There were so many things he wanted to say and do, but nothing happened. They just continued staring at each other unmoving as if under some sort of spell.

Then all at once the spell ended as a mass collided with the red head knocking her to the ground. "Ume!" Mashiro shouted happily as she tackled the other. "I knew I felt you a few days ago! I was right. Everyone's gonna be so happy to see you!"

"Mashiro?" Yukiko murmured in a rather stunned voice. "It's good to see you too."

"Hm...were you crying?" Mashiro asked sitting up and looking her over. She could see a few tears left in her eyes.

Yukiko quickly wiped them up. "I-I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

The weight of the woman suddenly disappeared as Kensei lifted the green haired girl off of her. The collision had given him enough time to pull himself together. "Where's the food, Mashiro?" he demanded as soon as the other was on her feet.

"Right where you left it, Kensei meanie!" she answered sticking her tongue out at him.

"Go grab it before someone else does," he growled. "We have to get back."

"You just want to be alone with, Ume," Mashiro pouted. "I missed her too you know."

Yukiko smiled to herself at the exchanged and managed to stifle the chuckle she wanted to let loose. Kensei, on the other hand, just glared at his lieutenant who eventually scurried down the road.

"She could have stayed, you know," Yukiko murmured getting back onto her feet. She was still shaken from the sudden encounter, but was quickly putting herself back together.

"No...not for this," he muttered slowly. Kensei turned to look the red head over, pleased to see she was really in front of him. Her scent, her eyes, and her voice all confirming what his mind wanted to be true. "When did you get here?"

"A few days ago," Yukiko answered, forcefully keeping down everything that wanted to come out. "Look, Kensei, I know you have a lot of questions, but right now isn't the best time. I really need for you to..."

Without warning, his free hand shot out and gripped her shoulder pulling her into his chest. He wanted to say something that would let her know how much it tore him up that he hadn't been there to protect her that day, that he hadn't saved her in the years after, but nothing came out. What he hadn't expected, was her reaction to his move.

The instant he grabbed her and she was pressed against his body, her own went into a terrified frenzy. Despite her and Soyokaze's efforts, the door to her memories of Kensei shattered and a flood of images surged through her weakened mind. The fear she'd been feeling skyrocketed and before she knew it, she'd recoiled so violently that she was against the opposite wall of the alley, squatting on the ground with tears flowing endlessly down her cheeks, and her hands pressing against either side of her head in a desperate attempt to protect herself.

Kensei saw her reaction and felt his anger begin to boil. He could still feel her body shiver under his touch and jerk away from him while she released a frightened screech. He didn't know what to do when she folded against the alley wall, muttering incoherently as she balled and kept herself turned away from him.

"Ume! Kensei meanie what did you do?" The ex-captain turned to see Mashiro had returned with their groceries and instantly rushed to Yukiko's side as she continued to cry and mutter in her curled up position. "You made her cry...You made Ume cry you big meanie!"

Kensei didn't say anything in his defense. He realized that her current state was because of what he'd done, but the only thing his mind could wrap around was that this was a result of whatever Aizen had done. This is what she'd been reduced to after 107 years of torture...torture they could have stopped but did nothing about. It was eating him up inside.

Mashiro punched Kensei in the arm for making her friend cry, before turning back to Yukiko and stroking her shaking back lightly. "It's okay, Ume, the big meanie won't hurt you anymore," she crooned worriedly.

As she spoke words of encouragement, Yukiko slowly began to stop shivering and look up. "M-Mashiro...thanks," she murmured after a time. Then she cautiously returned to her feet and gave her head a quick shake, running a hand through her hair. "I should go..."

"But you have to come with us to spar," Mashiro argued. She felt it was all Kensei's fault her old friend decided not to go with them.

Yukiko chuckled reluctantly. "Mashiro, I promise I'll come by another time to spar with you," she murmured, forcing a smile on her face. "But right now I can't...I'm sorry." Then she moved toward Kensei and took the plant from him, inhaling the scent deeply. It calmed her exceptionally frayed nerves and she looked back at him. "I want to see everyone again, but I'm not ready. Until I am...just stay away from me...please."

With that, she turned and walked out of the alley way back toward her apartment. The instant she was out of sight she sprinted as fast as she could the rest of the way. Tears slid down her cheeks the entire time she moved as her sword explained the damage the encounter had left her with. A shattered door that would need to be replaced, and memories of death and pain chipping at the other doors. She'd fully broken down in front of the man she'd been in love with for years, she'd pulled away from his embrace, she'd hurt him.

The moment she reached her apartment, she set the plum blossom down on the night stand and collapsed onto her bed, crying hard. She'd wanted to avoid encountering him until she felt she could return a hug from him, or at least accept one. But it had backfired horribly. The look in his eye when she'd finally been able to look at him again was unbearable. She'd really hurt him and because of that her cruel mind cried out that a relationship with with him would be utterly impossible now.

The door to the Vizard warehouse nearly flew off its hinges as Kensei stormed inside. He was beyond pissed and looking for the source of his anger, spotting him lounging on the only couch available. In moments, he was across the room and had the blond by the collar up against the wall while startled exclamations filled the air.

"Woah, calm down, Kensei," Love muttered carefully, getting to his feet slowly and setting his book down on his chair. "Whatever Mashiro did wasn't his fault."

"That's not it!" Kensei growled dangerously. He wanted to let out all his anger and frustration onto the man before him. But for whatever reason he couldn't think of the words he needed to do just that.

Instead he glared at Shinji, his hand shaking and a vein pulsing on his temple. As he glared, he saw the other man's eyes go from mild confusion to understanding. He knew exactly why Kensei was so pissed and did nothing to protect himself. This just proved to piss the larger ex-captain off. But before he could say a word, a shout drew everyone's attention taking away any need for him to speak.

"Guess who we saw in town!" Mashiro exclaimed happily, as she pranced around the warehouse. "I bet you'll never guess!"

"You're right, we give up," Lisa answered without looking up from her swimsuit magazine; as she realized no one else wanted to play the guessing game with her either.

"Ah, you're no fun," the green haired woman pouted. But she quickly got over it and grinned once more. "It was Ume! She looked great, though Kensei made her cry. Meanie. But she promised to come spar with me soon. I can't wait!"

At this, the other occupants of the room turned to look at Kensei who still had Shinji pinned to the wall. "Is this true, Kensei?" Rose asked with a look of cautious hope in his eyes. He had obviously finished fixing Lisa's hair as he now had a violin in his hands. "Is she really free?"

Kensei didn't answer, but he did finally release the other's collar and turn away.

"Tch, if that's the case, why didn't Kisuke or Youruichi say anything?" Hiyori demanded in irritation. She and Hachigen were just coming up from the training room after they heard the two Vaizards' return. "They were supposed to let us know the moment they knew."

Kensei clenched his fists as the others spoke and fought the urge to drive one of them into Shinji's face. He was wondering the same thing, and what made it worse was that the blond obviously knew about it as well. Question was, why didn't he bring it up either. Sure the blond had been her captain in the end, but he was her...he was going to... He couldn't finish the thought and instead slammed a shaking fist into the wall, causing the structure to crack under the strain.

"So, how long have you known, Shinji?" Love asked out of the blue. His eyes shot between the blond and silver haired Vaizard, expecting the latter to seriously damage the other.

The blond sighed and picked his hat off the ground where it'd fallen, brushed it off, then put it back onto his head. "I've only known for three days," he answered before striding over to the couch and plopping down once more. "According to Kisuke, she's been free since Ichigo's invasion of the Soul Society."

"Why the hell didn't they say anything?" Kensei demanded, finally turning toward the rest of the group. He wanted answers, and the only way he was getting anything was if he stayed calm long enough to hear them.

At first, Shinji didn't seem to have heard him as he pulled the hat further over his face. Then he sat up enough to look over at the still dancing Mashiro. "Hey, Mashiro, you said she was going to spar with your right," he asked. "Maybe you should go get some practice in then."

"That's right!" the woman exclaimed. "Thanks, Shinji!" Then she ran off to the underground training area.

Shinji waited until she was well out of earshot before settling his gaze on the rest. "Look, I went to talk to them after Yukiko walked into Ichigo's classroom," he began. "They said they decided to wait for her to decide as to whether or not we should know. When they asked her, she requested we not be alerted. Not until she was ready anyway."

"Ready for what, exactly?" Rose asked curiously.

Shinji met Kensei's gaze and nodded. "You understand, since you saw her," he pointed out. "She's not in a proper mental state to be meeting with any of us right now. She's trying to properly recover, but as of right now any direct interaction from us will only hinder her progress. That's why I agreed not to say anything either."

"Ha, I doubt she's that bad off," Hiyori scoffed crossing her arms in front of her.

"What is her current state, Shinji?" Lisa cut in. She understood that it would be impossible for Yukiko to be in perfect condition, but wanted to know just how bad it was.

"Honestly I'm not sure," he responded. "What I do know, is she is unable to speak with anyone from that time without potentially having a breakdown. Youruichi mentioned that in Soul Society, she freaked out and nearly attacked Unohana when it reached that breaking point. But Youruichi did mention that she's doing better than she did when she first woke up."

"Hmm...so you're saying we should wait to see her," Love spoke up.

Shinji nodded and relaxed back on the cushions once again. "She asked that we wait until she's ready to come to us," he answered. "Her gigai should make it easy to check in on her without her noticing, but direct contact would probably have a negative effect. You can relax though, the fact she promised Mashiro she'd come spar means she has every intention of visiting"

"Works for me," Love grumbled going back to his book.

"I suppose there is no point in rushing," Rose agreed, tuning the instrument in his hands. "We've waited this long, I believe we can wait a little longer."

"Tch, the idiot can do what she wants," Hiyori muttered before disappearing into the underground training facility. Hachigen was right behind her, sighing heavily. He'd tried to make a few comments during the discussion but no one seemed to have noticed. So he decided to bring them up again later.

Once they'd all gone back to their business and Shinji relaxed back on the couch, Kensei stormed up to his room. He knew Shinji was right about giving Yukiko some space, but he hated it. She was so close, and yet he still couldn't feel her form beneath his hands, hear her voice saying his name, nor have her scent wrap around him like it once had. He'd lost the chance to have any of that when he transferred her to another squad; now it looked as if despite her return, that opportunity would never come again.

Shippoman: So much for a happy reunion. Yukiko is falling apart as fast as she can repair the damage and Kensei is as impatient as ever. How long with the wait and see plan work? Stay tuned to find out. Please remember to R&R. ;p