Chapter 16:

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this, Yukiko?"

Said soul reaper was seated in a chair facing the vanity mirror in a small bedroom. She was busy taking slow calming breaths as she looked at the reflection of the golden haired man holding a pair of scissors.

"Yes, Rose, I want to be able to look into the mirror without seeing the hair he gave me," she answered. "I need a new me...a current me. Please."

Rose nodded as he cautiously set the scissors down and picked up a hairbrush. "Alright then, any requests on style?" he asked, brushing out her long dark-red hair.

"I guess...something cute, happy...and maybe shoulder-length," she murmured thoughtfully. "I'm sorry if that doesn't help."

"Hmm...no I have the perfect thing," Rose began separating her hair into different sections before he began cutting, being sure to explain his every move.

This was surprisingly helpful for her, especially when she began closing her eyes. With her eyes closed, she could hear every snip, the falling of her hair, and the shifting of her hair in his hands. Mixed with the tug of her hair, the soft brushes of his hands and the scissors on the back of her neck, and the occasional breath on her scalp and she about wanted to split. All that was keeping her planted in the seat was not being able to see the scissors coming at her, Soyokaze's continuing reassurance, and the constant explanations of each action Rose was taking. Each time he mentioned the potentially deadly scissors, she would tense, feel his words come true, then relax again when they were put down. Each time he was proven right, each time he honestly explained himself drew her more and more at ease. By the time she heard the scissors close for the last time, her fears were mostly put to rest.

"All done," Rose murmured, slowly selling the scissors down one last time. "Tell me what you think."

Yukiko swallowed a few times, thinking about how he was more that capable of obliterating and good appearance she had. With Soyokaze's help, she finally sucked it up and opened her eyes. The moment she saw her appearance, she couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips. Although her hair was straight as a pin, now it fell in waves down around her face, gently framing it. She was mildly startled the ends stopped near her chin, but Rose reassured her this was only because of the waves. Just as she'd asked, she now looked much happier, and even though her eyes were still sad, she almost couldn't tell she'd been imprisoned for over 100 years.

"I-It looks great, Rose," she murmured, turning to look right at him. "Thank you."

"I'm glad you like it, Yukiko," Rose chuckled. "Why don't you wait just outside while I clean up and we'll get going."

Yukiko nodded in agreement and stood up, pulling the large hair bib off of her in the process, and stepped out the door. She closed her eyes and smiled to herself as she thought about the hair cut. It'd gone better than she expected and was pleased to note she wasn't raring to get out. Instead, she was looking forward to the rest of the day.

It didn't take long for Rose to exit and when he did he was carrying a small case in one hand and a basket in the other. "Well then, shall we?" he asked with a warm smile.

Yukiko returned it and nodded. "Yes, Where are we off to?"

"How does relaxing by the river sound?"

"Perfect."

With that the pair made their way to the warehouse exit and left.

Kensei never was the most patient guy, and this really stood out to him as he watched Rose and Yukiko leave before following them. He knew he'd agreed to wait a week for her to be ready to talk, but all that meant was she couldn't know he was there.

Under that mentality, he picked a spot near a tree where he sat and watched them at the river's side. He watched Rose set down both items in his hands and pull out a blanket from the basket and laid it out on the ground before setting various food items on the cloth.

The next few hours were hard for him. The pair spent the time chatting about nothing, eating an early lunch, and then Rose opened the case and began playing the violin. Yukiko really seemed to enjoy this as she allowed a small smile to appear on her face. After he played a few songs, he handed the instrument to her and began giving her a lesson. She was terrible at it, as the area was filled with the screech of the bow roughly dragging across the strings.

Thankfully she didn't try to play for long. They remained at the river until the sun began to set. Then the two said their goodbyes and she went home.

Now if Kensei had been a more rational man, he would have gone home too. But, as this was not the case, he followed her to her appointment and watched her through the window. He was there until long after dark; watching her go through her meditation and rejoice after each success before finally passing out.

Only after she fell asleep did he return to the warehouse, tired and frustrated but pleased to see it was working. Unfortunately, his return caught the attention of a certain annoying blonde who once again stopped him in his tracks.

"So, back from your night of creeping?" Shinji asked with a wide grin.

"Buzz off," Kensei grunted, moving around the ex-captain. His progress was halted when his arm was grasped by the other man and held firm. "What now?" he growled.

"You're only making it harder on yourself," Shinji sighed. "It's only five more days until it's your turn. Just try to avoid her for a bit and keep your possessive, jealous tendencies to yourself."

Kensei glared at him for a long moment before yanking his arm out of his grip and continuing on his way. The blond wasn't wrong, but he wasn't about to admit it. He needed to show some form of patience when dealing with Yukiko, but it wasn't easy. He kept feeling like the longer he waited the better chances were that he'd lose her forever...all over again. Trying to force the thoughts to the back of his mind, he made his way up to his room and crashed on his bed. As he drifted off, he decided he'd try to take Shinji's suggestion under advisement and make himself scarce when she next came around.

After her success with Rose, Yukiko was more determined and excited than ever. The morning after, she almost flew back to the hideout and hugged Rose tightly around the middle when she greeted him. Her actions clearly surprised the others, but all she could do was smile at the blonde Vizard and then grin at Hachi and Mahiro.

Once she'd greeted everyone, she got Love's attention and the two headed out. She was a little disappointed Kensei wasn't visible but she was able to more easily keep her smile. The day was fun as they went to a movie theater to see an action flick. Yukiko was blown away seeing a screen that size and watching the show in full color. It felt so real to her. Love had to keep reminding her it was fake.

Next they went to what he called a boxing gym. It had a large square shaped thing that was raised off the ground with ropes surrounding the top, several punching bags, weights, jump ropes, and lots of other workout equipment. She eased some stress by punching the bags, jumping rope, and watching some guys punch each other in the square thing. Love explained the point of the sport and that the square thing was called a ring. It didn't make sense, but it was still interesting. By the time they were done, it was getting late lin the afternoon. The sky was a bright orange color as the sun began to set and she she smiled to herself as Love led the way back to the warehouse district.

Halfway back, they came across an alleyway when a couple teens had ganged up on a smaller and much weaker looking teen. They were all wearing what looked like school uniforms from the same school, but not the one she was familiar with. Somehow the scene was all too familiar to Yukiko as she had a flash of being in the middle of the fray herself.

In doing so, she felt her breath leave all together as a memory of Love abandoning her to her tormentors joined in. She blinked a few times to rid herself o the images and moved to turn away. She was certain Love had kept going, not bothering to help as he didn't know any of the boys present.

As she closed her eyes and took a step toward the warehouse, she heard a surprised shout and glanced around for the source. She was stunned to see Love had intervened, having grabbed both attacking boys by the collar and lifted them effortlessly off the ground. "If you can't face your opponent alone, then you can't call yourself a man," he grunted. "Needing a friend to gang up on someone obviously weaker than you only makes you look weak. Don't do it again."

The boys looked like they were about to wet themselves as Love set them back down. The moment he released their collars, they took off without looking back. The one who was being attacked slowly got to his feet, muttered his thanks, and left as well.

Yukiko waited until the three were gone before approaching the older soul reaper. "What made you step in?" she asked nervously.

"They were clearly trying to be men, but their actions were uncool," Love answered striking a pose. "Someone needed to teach them what being a man means."

Yukiko blinked in confusion before a few giggles escaped her. "You totally got all those lines from your magazines," she guessed.

"No, they were all my creation."

Yukiko laughed again knowing she'd been right. Seeing him step into a fight like that for a stupid reason made her feel as if her fears were unfounded. He would never leave her hanging in a fight against many people.

With her newfound respect for the dark ex-captain, the pair returned to the warehouse where Yukiko read a few of Love's comic magazines until she was ready to go home. Then she bid the group goodnight, noting Kensei's absence, then left. She was certain she was going to have a productive night.

"One more, Jun."

Kensei let loose a low groan as a large glass of amber liquid was placed in front of him. Beside it were seven more similar glasses, all empty save for a thin layer of amber on the bottom. It'd been over an hour since he stepped into "Samu-Rye", a small bar not far from the warehouse district of Karakura Town, and he'd been downing drinks ever since. All around him people were milling about, chatting, drinking and a few were even dancing close together. Behind the bar he was seated at, stood a rather short man with short, black hair that had receded quite a ways and was incredibly thin.

"Something on your mind, Kensei?" the bartender asked as he released the glass and picked up a cleaning rag. The Vizard ignored him as he picked up the offered glass and began downing the liquid. "You've been here less than two hours and you've already downed more liquor than normal for you in a night. In fact you've been drinking this much all week. What's wrong?"

"None of your business," Kensei grunted. He finished off the drink and added it to the line of empty glasses. "Another."

"Okay, it's pretty clear whatever this is has something to do with either a best friend or a girlfriend," Jun continued. Kensei glared hard at him, tapping his fingers as he waited for his alcohol. "I'll take that as a yes. Look, I'll give you one more, but only if you agree to vent. You keep drinking this much and you're likely to die from alcohol poisoning."

Kensei didn't answer and just waited. He didn't want to admit it, but drinking was the only thing he felt he could do to fully avoid Yukiko until it was time. It'd mostly worked, but constantly being sloshed was severely impairing his judgement. He'd almost completely followed her back to her apartment the last two nights, after Love and Lisa's outings with her. They'd hinted that something had gone wrong and he'd wanted to make sure she was alright. Luckily, Mashiro had teased him enough that he changed his mind. Tonight was no different.

Jun sighed heavily before filling another glass and placing it in front of Kensei. The Vizard reached for the drink but it was pulled out of reach. "I've known you for a long time, Kensei," he murmured. "You only drink this much when something really bad it going on."

Kensei's glare darkened before he snatched the glass out of the other man's hand. "Just keep bringing me my damn drinks," he growled out. Then he gulped down half the glass in one breath, staring at the counter.

"So, what happened with your girlfriend?" the bartender asked determinedly.

"She's not my girlfriend," the Vizard grunted.

"But there is a she," the bartender chuckled in relief. "So, are you wanting her to be a girlfriend and she doesn't? Did you break up? Or..."

"No," Kensei cut him off. The line of questions bringing up images of the very girl he was trying to get out of his mind, even just for a few hours. "I thought she was dead."

"Oh...but she recently turned back up?" the bartender asked in surprise. "That's a good thing, right?"

"Yeah...no...I don't know." He drained his glass and Jun prepared another for him, encouraging him to continue. "She's not doing well. She survived being tortured by this fucking bastard but is having trouble recovering. I can't...she can't even look at me without freakin' out."

"That's...a problem," the bartender agreed. "Does she have any support?"

"Yeah...all my friends are stepping up," Kensei answered reluctantly. "They've been taking her out every day to do something. It's my turn the day after tomorrow. I have no idea what to do...what I can do that she hasn't already done."

"Hmm...you want to do something special for her," the bartender guessed. "Something your friends haven't tried already. Well, what all have they done?"

Kensei took a few gulps of his drink, anything to ease his mind. "Rose took her on a picnic and gave her a music lesson, Love took her to a move and gave her a boxing lesson, Lisa took her clothes shopping and then swimming, and Hiyori took her to the spa today."

"Wow, sounds like a pretty active girl," the bartender whistled. "Boxing's not something you usually hear about...though I guess that makes her a good fit for you." He coughed at the glare the silver haired man shot him and continued. "Well, it sounds like she likes a lot of different things so I guess I understand where your confusion comes to. But I guess as long as it's with you it probably won't matter what you do. She'll enjoy it."

"Bullshit!" Kensei nearly shouted slamming a fist on the counter. He took a moment to calm himself down before finishing off another glass. He was pleased to see that the bartender had another ready for him immediately. "She can't even look at me, much less talk to me. She's not going to enjoy anything I come up with."

"You're over thinking it," the bartender said quickly. "She sounds like a nice girl, that'll probably enjoy a nice place to eat, maybe even home cooking, and a chance to get to see a part of who you are. How long ago did you know her?"

"Years," Kensei answered simply. He wasn't going to say anything more than that. This human wouldn't buy it if he mentioned it'd been 107 years, two months, and 10 days. "Geeze, never thought I'd kept track of the exact date that well," he thought to himself.

"See, anything that shows her who you are, might help," Jun pointed out. "At the very least, not having a hangover or being slobbering drunk will."

"Keep your opinions to yerself," Kensei grunted. The last word slurred slightly, telling the Vizard he was worse off than he believed. He was starting to feel warm and knew he was drunk. His irritation had kept him from noticing the growing buzz.

"Alright, my bad," the bartender responded with raised hands. "Just trying to help. So what are you going to do now?"

Kensei scanned the man behind the counter for a moment, sizing him up and forcing his muddled brain to work a bit more. The man did have a point, albeit one the Vizard did not want to acknowledge. He could remember Yukiko specifically saying she needed to reacquaint herself with everyone all over again. Meaning man was also right about what she'd like to do. A series of what if questions hurtled through his increasingly fuzzy mind making him shake his head. Maybe he should head back, he'd figure it out tomorrow while the blonde moron was busy.

Without a word, Kensei got to his feet, left the appropriate amount of yen on the bar and walked out; making sure to hide the few times he almost stumbled on his way. He still had one more day to make it through before it was finally his turn to talk to her. Maybe...maybe by then, she'd be far enough along he'd finally be able to ask her his burning questions.

Shippoman: Sorry about the long wait. I had issues deciding whether to go into detail of all the days or just sum up most of them. After all, her reactions and mental state is mostly the same with all of them. Hopefully the next chapter will come up much faster.

Anyway, Yukiko's down to the last two Vizard, Shinji and Kensei. Her two ex-captains. Things aren't going to be nearly as simple or easy as the rest. But will she have enough support from the rest to make it through properly? Find out next chapter and please remember to R&R.